Ukrainian Tennis Player Daria Snigur Gets Emotional After Shock Win Over Simona Halep: 'For Ukraine'

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Robert Prange/Getty

Ukrainian tennis pro Daria Snigur put her name on the map in a big way at the US Open.

On Monday, Snigur, 20, earned her first-ever WTA Tour win in just her third match on the circuit when she upsetworld No. 7Simona Halep 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, according tothe WTA. Snigur was ranked No. 124 before the US Open’s start and entered her first major tournament as a qualifier, according to the WTA.

Snigur appeared to burst into tears as soon as she won Monday’s match and was clearly emotional as she shook hands with Halep, 30, and the chair umpire. The Ukrainian tennis pro quickly drew attention to a ribbon she placed on her chest bearing the colors of Ukraine’s flag, forming a heart with her hands after her victory to show support for her home country amid Russia’s ongoing invasion.

“I’m very, very, very nervous,” she said, according to the WTA. “But I tried to do my best.”

“This is a victory for Ukraine, for all Ukrainian people, for my family, for my team,” she added on the court in a post-match interview, according toCNN.

Julian Finney/Getty

“The situation is bad, of course. I try to do the best for Ukraine, I try to support my country.

“It’s not so easy because the war is continuing,” Snigur said. “Sometimes, it’s impossible to play but I try to do my best because I want to live in Ukraine.”

“No comment, I think, because it’s impossible for me now,” she said.

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Snigur had a highly successful junior career before turning pro; she was the No. 2 ranked women’s junior player at one point and was just the second Ukrainian player to win Wimbledon’s girls' singles tournament in 2019, according to theWTA.

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In the second round, Snigur is scheduled to face Canada’s Rebecca Marino, who is ranked 106 in women’s singles, according to theUS Open. Marino, 31, defeated Magdalena Frech in straight sets in the first round.

One of five Ukrainian pros in the US Open this year, Snigur played in a charity event to fundraise money for her home country in between qualification matches last week, according to CNN. The event raised $1.2 million that will be donated to a crisis relief fund to support areas in Ukraine and where Ukrainian refugees have sought asylum amid the war, according to theUS Open’s website.

Ukrainemarked 31 years of freedom from the Soviet Unionon Ukrainian Independence Day last Wednesday asRussia’s invasion of the sovereign nationentered its sixth month.

source: people.com