World No.25 Dayana Yastremska discussed her upbringing, her burgeoning tennis career, and her upcoming hopes in "My Story: Dayana Yastremska."
In the video, the 19-year-old Ukrainian gave an inside look into her family life and the ups and downs of the last two seasons as she rose up the WTA rankings.
Yastremska and her parents note that the Odessa native was an extremely active child, who was drawn to various activities to channel her energy.
"The character and spirit I have right now, it’s from childhood," said the rising teenager.
"I was doing tennis, swimming, dancing, gymnastics, singing," Yastremska continued. "But I loved something where you can put all your energy away."
"First practice, I went with my grandfather," she said about her initial appearance on a tennis court. "[I] realized that’s something where I have a passion, where I really want to see myself."
Yastremska went on to become a successful junior, reaching the junior Wimbledon singles final, before quickly making her mark on the WTA as a professional. In 2018, she cracked the Top 100 for the first time, and won her first WTA singles title at Hong Kong aged 18.
1- Me smiling 🐯. 2- Me and my favorites Pikachu(so bad there isn’t emoji of pika) 😔3. Bottle toss aaaaaannnddd made it 👏🏻 4. I guess some stretching🐉. That’s all 🙂 #DY #adelaide #wta @BigSascha pic.twitter.com/YDLRx2rJIi
— Dayana Yastremska (@D_Yastremska) January 15, 2020
The Ukrainian continued her rapid success last season, winning two more WTA titles at Hua Hin and Strasbourg, and moving into the Top 25 for the first time. This year, she made another final in Adelaide before falling to World No.1 Ashleigh Barty,
Her 2019 Hua Hin title came at one of the most difficult times for the youngster, who had to fight for the trophy while her mother was recovering from an eye injury suffered at the Australian Open the prior week. Yastremska battled back from 2-5 down in the final set of the championship match before claiming the crown.
Read more: ‘It was really hard to play’: Dayana Yastremska on rising past family trauma
"My mother is in the hospital, she cannot see with her left eye," Yastremska said. "And me, hitting the balls, that’s all that I have to do on the court -- and bring this trophy back to my mother."
Yastremska continues to work on her training -- including boxing, which she started incorporating into her routine at 11 years old -- as well as starting a charitable fund.
She also tries to make as much time as possible to spend with her family in Ukraine, including her proud grandparents and her younger sister, also an aspiring professional tennis player.
"My goal now is to perfect myself on the court and off the court, be more disciplined, get Top 20, to win a Grand Slam," said Yastremska. "My dream is just to be a happy person in life."
View the entire video above!