Lyudmyla Kichenok Postpones Wedding to Win US Open Doubles Title

Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok made headlines at the US Open by becoming a Grand Slam champion in the women’s doubles final, alongside Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko. The pair defeated Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-3 to claim the prestigious title.

What makes this victory even more remarkable is that Kichenok, 32, had to postpone her wedding to boyfriend Stas Khmarsky, who is also Ostapenko’s coach, just two days prior to the final. The wedding was originally scheduled for Wednesday, the same day as Kichenok’s semi-final match.

“My boyfriend and I were supposed to get married, but the semi-finals came up,” Kichenok said after the match. The seventh-seeded duo put their personal lives on hold and focused on their tennis, leading to a memorable victory at one of the sport’s most important events.