Yulia Starodubtseva suffered a first-round exit at the WTA 250 tournament in Nottingham, falling to Spain's Cristina Bucșa 3:6, 3:6 in just 91 minutes. The Ukrainian world number 68 couldn't find her rhythm on the grass courts against her 107th-ranked opponent.
This defeat marks the second time Starodubtseva has lost to Bucșa in 2024, following their previous encounter in the first round of Roland Garros. Not exactly the pattern any player wants to establish against a particular opponent.
Interestingly, both competitors entered the main draw as lucky losers after failing to advance through qualification. They replaced higher-ranked players Petra Kvitova and Tatjana Maria, who withdrew from the tournament.
"I've been working to improve my grass court game, but today wasn't my day," Starodubtseva might have reflected after the match.
Bucșa will now face fifth seed Leylah Fernandez in the next round, while Ukrainian tennis fans can still cheer for Dayana Yastremska, who successfully navigated her first-round match against Olga Danilović. Yastremska is set to continue her Nottingham campaign on June 18 against Antonia Ružić.
Can Yastremska go further in the tournament and salvage some pride for Ukrainian tennis after Starodubtseva's early exit? The grass court season is just warming up.
