Ukrainian tennis player Yulia Starodubtseva concluded her performance at the prestigious WTA 1000 hard court tournament held in Toronto. In the first-round match, the 1/64th final, the Ukrainian representative lost to Australian Maia Joint. The match lasted three sets and ended with a score of 6:4, 1:6, 3:6 in favor of the opponent.
Match dynamics: from a confident start to loss of initiative
The beginning of the match went most favorably for the Ukrainian. Starodubtseva managed to impose her rhythm of play and confidently closed the first set, winning with a score of 6:4. However, the course of the match changed radically in the second set. The Australian tennis player, who reached the main draw through qualifying, completely took over the initiative.
In the following two sets, Starodubtseva could not offer sufficient resistance, giving her opponent 10 games out of 12. Joint won two sets in a row with scores of 6:1 and 6:3, which allowed her to advance to the next stage of the competition.
History of confrontation and current form
This was the second head-to-head meeting between these athletes. Previously, in June 2026, Yulia Starodubtseva defeated Maia Joint at the tournament in Nottingham. However, that victory remains the last one for the Ukrainian in the current season. The defeat in Toronto became her fifth in a row, which indicates a difficult period in her career.
Results for the Ukrainian team
Starodubtseva became the third Ukrainian tennis player to end her fight at the start of the tournament in Canada. Earlier, Alexandra Oleinikova and Angelina Kalinina ended their performances in Toronto. Nevertheless, the hopes of Ukrainian tennis in this tournament are preserved: Elina Svitolina and Marta Kostyuk will continue the fight, starting their path from the second round.
In the next round, Maia Joint will meet the 14th-seeded Romanian Sorana Kirsti.
