Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko lifted the trophy on Friday for their victory in the US Open doubles final. The Ukrainian player, due to her participation in the Grand Slam tournament, was forced to postpone her own wedding, which she mentioned during the awards ceremony in New York. After the success at the US Open, she received many congratulations, but she was completely surprised by a special message from Jessica Pegula. She shared it on social media.
This year’s edition of the US Open brought the greatest success of Lyudmyla Kichenok’s career. The Ukrainian, paired with Jelena Ostapenko, stormed through the competition, defeating each opponent on their path. The Latvian was able to partially redeem herself after a disappointing performance in the singles tournament, where she was eliminated in the first round by Naomi Osaka. Ostapenko and Kichenok reached the US Open final without dropping a single set, and along the way, they defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia and Laura Siegemund 6-3, 7-6(5). On Friday, they faced Kristina Mladenović and Shuai Zhang for the title. However, the French-Chinese pair lagged behind their opponents in almost every aspect.
In the first set, Ostapenko and Kichenok triumphed 6-4, dominating from the start. They began with a 3-0 lead, and although they lost their serve in the seventh game, they secured the first set. Despite the setback at the end of the first set, Mladenović and Zhang managed to take the initiative at the beginning of the next set, leading 3-1. However, the momentum quickly shifted, this time decisively. The Latvian and Ukrainian won five consecutive games, taking the match 6-4, 6-3. The final moments were tense, as they needed four match points to finally seal the victory.
The unexpected announcement from the Ukrainian tennis player was met with an extremely warm response from the fans, who congratulated her not only on winning the Grand Slam tournament but also on her upcoming wedding. However, she did not expect a message from Jessica Pegula. The American player sent her special congratulations, which Lyudmyla Kichenok proudly shared on social media.
‘I saw that you were supposed to get married on Wednesday. Congratulations on winning the Grand Slam title and have a great time at your wedding!’ wrote the US Open finalist.