Ukrainian tennis player Yuliia Starodubtseva, having established herself in the WTA top 50 of the world rankings, revealed her further ambitions on tour in an exclusive interview with Sport RBC.UA. For the 23-year-old, breaking into the top 50 of the planet's best tennis players was a logical step, but in her own words, it is only a starting point for more serious goals. She names reaching the top 30 as her main near-term benchmark, which would allow her to earn seeded status at Grand Slam tournaments and, as a result, avoid strong opponents in the early rounds.

Priorities: health and growth, not just ranking numbers

"It would be nice to be in the top 30 and seeded at the Slams. But the priorities are, first and foremost, health and a focus on the areas where I can become better," Starodubtseva emphasized. This approach reflects the maturity of an athlete who, after a breakthrough season, does not give in to euphoria but builds a clear system of development. In her words, over the course of the season she worked on every component of her game — from physical conditioning to tactical flexibility — yet it was the mental component that became the decisive factor in her progress.

Mental transformation as the key driver

Starodubtseva admitted that her psychological state was the main priority in her work throughout the season. The experience of high-level matches helped her build confidence in her own abilities, while her tennis level also grew noticeably in parallel. In her assessment, it was precisely the combination of mental resilience and technical growth that allowed her to establish herself in the tour's elite and not just break into the top 50, but to feel confident in every match.

The disappearance of fear of the "stars"

Worthy of separate attention is the change in her perception of top opponents. After matches against Amanda Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, and Elena Rybakina, Starodubtseva's attitude toward the tour's authorities changed, in her own admission. The Ukrainian revealed that the experience of recent years has taught her to approach every match the same way: she still expects a high level from top-10 representatives, but the feeling that she is stepping onto the court against a "star" has completely disappeared. This psychological shift is, in essence, a marker of the transition from the category of "playing against top players" to the category of "playing on equal terms with top players."

Context: the breakthrough of Ukrainian women's tennis

Starodubtseva's breakthrough into the top 50 comes against the backdrop of a general rise in Ukrainian women's tennis. According to the current WTA rankings, several Ukrainian athletes are simultaneously in the top 50, and earlier in history it was recorded that for the first time two Ukrainian tennis players entered the world top 10 at the same time. In this context, Starodubtseva's performance at the 2026 US Open, where she played a tense match against the world No. 2, became a vivid confirmation that Ukrainian women's tennis has firmly established itself in the world elite. The athlete herself, assessing that match, noted that after beating Rybakina in one of the previous matches she wondered whether she could repeat such a result — and the answer, judging by her current form, was affirmative.

What's next: the path to the top 30

Starodubtseva faces a task that is both realistic and ambitious — breaking into the WTA top 30. Seeded status at Grand Slam tournaments will open up additional opportunities for her: a more comfortable draw in the early rounds, reduced psychological load, and, as a result, a chance for deeper runs in Paris, London, New York, and Melbourne. At the same time, the tennis player herself emphasizes that the path to this goal will not be built through a race for points at any cost, but through consistent work on health, mental resilience, and her tactical arsenal. For Ukrainian tennis, this means that in the coming months Starodubtseva can be expected to deliver even more confident performances on hard and clay courts, where she traditionally feels most comfortable.