Redmond’s Kristina Liutova, 16, continues her lengthy journey to the highest of ladies’s tennis Monday when she performs her first primary draw match at a Grand Slam match on the 2026 US Open. Liutova’s opponent is a veteran attempting to claw her approach again to the highest of the game: 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist and former World No. 4 Zheng Qinwen.
Liutova has already made historical past — greater than as soon as
By making it by the qualifying rounds on the US Open final week, Liutova turned the primary participant born within the 2010s to succeed in the primary draw of a Grand Slam. She is the youngest participant within the draw on the US Open. In early August, she turned the primary participant born within the 2010s to win a WTA title along with her victory on the Memphis Basic.
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The Russian-born Liutova is on a nine-match successful streak. Her file in 2026 is 33-4.
“Actually, I by no means have a look at the stats,” Liutova instructed KIRO Newsradio. “Once I get instructed, I overlook instantly.”
A expertise so hanging it caught the attention of a former top-20 professional
Liutova’s expertise was so hanging that it caught the attention of Dmitry Tursunov, a former top-20 Russian professional who has gone on to educate among the largest names within the sport, together with present world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Tursunov linked the household to the Gorin Tennis Academy, the place she’s been coaching since 2021 and racking up junior titles, together with the Orange Bowl and a number of nationwide championships.
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Ilya Osintsev was her coach when she first received to America.
“I used to be genuinely stunned, pleasantly stunned, and shocked to see how an 11-year-old lady can play at such a excessive degree already. I’ve by no means seen that earlier than,” Osintsev instructed KIRO Newsradio. “After which after we began working collectively, after I realized how aggressive she is — the identical factor. I’ve by no means seen any participant being that aggressive. Each single level, each single sport, and each single match. She’s simply such a tremendous competitor.”
Liutova’s coach believed she might beat anybody in Memphis
Whereas they have been in Memphis, her coach, Tiago Campana, felt Liutova might beat any participant on the opposite aspect of the web.
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“I might see the extent was identical to proper there in comparison with each different participant,” he instructed KIRO Newsradio. “I did not care a lot concerning the rating or the identify or who it was, however I knew she would be capable to play tennis there with whoever was the opponent.”
En path to her Memphis title, Liutova beat prime seed and World No. 19 Ekaterina Alexandrova within the first spherical of the primary draw. Then she took out Maya Joint, who beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon earlier this summer time.
Liutova is maintaining her general tennis targets and desires non-public for now, however she does reveal that she desires to encourage others — and she or he desires to deal with her mother, who has sacrificed a lot to get her the place she is at present.
“I need to ensure that she’s joyful, and sooner or later she has a simple life — a home, a cat — and simply watch my matches with no worries and no strain,” Liutova stated. “My targets and desires are hers; hers are mine.”
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For making the primary spherical of the primary draw on the US Open, Liutova is assured $140,000.
Sports activities Illustrated names Liutova a US Open participant to look at
Sports activities Illustrated is taking discover of Liutova. On Friday, it acknowledged her as certainly one of “5 Younger Gamers Who May Shake Up the 2026 US Open.” The opposite 4 are among the largest names within the sport for the time being, together with Rafael Jódar and Arthur Fery from the lads’s tour. From the ladies’s tour, the opposite two gamers on that checklist are 2026 French Open Champion Mirra Andreeva and Alexandra Eala.
Eala, the quickly rising star from the Philippines, like Liutova, additionally received her first WTA title this 12 months. She captured the Mubadala DC Open in Washington DC, taking out among the sport’s prime gamers, together with two-time former US Open champion and former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka. She additionally beat Liutova’s upcoming opponent: Zheng Qinwen.
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Zheng Qinwen’s comeback units up a compelling US Open matchup
Zheng, like Liutova, needed to play the qualifying rounds of the US Open this 12 months. However in 2023 and 2024, she made the US Open quarterfinals. In 2024, she reached the Australian Open closing and the French Open quarterfinals in 2025. However in the summertime of 2025, Zheng underwent arthroscopic elbow surgical procedure. As she recovered from surgical procedure, her rating fell. However, like Liutova, her rating is now on the rise.
Zheng is at present ranked 121. Liutova’s rank is 125.
They’re scheduled to face off on Court docket 17 on the US Open on Monday morning.
This story was initially posted on MyNorthwest.com
