A few days after the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, Yastremska, now 93rd in the world, reached the final of the Lyon tournament, before remaining in France where she attended several training centers, forced into exile. strength.
“Lyon was my first tournament after the war broke out. I hadn’t trained before. We had something else to think about. When we arrived in France with my sister (Ivanna), we were welcomed very warmly, she remembers. I was upset and I don’t know how I managed to play like that and reach the final,” she said after her victory.
Since then, the 23-year-old Ukrainian has packed her bags several times, most recently in Cagnes-sur-Mer, with her mother. On the Côte d’Azur, it benefits from a coaching duo composed of Frenchman Emmanuel Heussner and Latvian Marcis Garuts. His father, for his part, makes frequent trips to Ukraine, just like his sister and his grandmother.
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“I love France. The training conditions are pleasant… But I still prefer my country. I wish I could go back there more often, breathes the native of Odessa. I always try to write something for Ukraine, or about Ukraine. I make it my mission: if I have good results, try to show Ukraine that I am very proud of it,” explains Yastremska.