Redmond’s Kristina Liutova — the 16-year-old making a rapid rise in women’s tennis — just reached another milestone.
Kristina Liutova won her third match in the US Open qualifying rounds Friday, beating Poland’s Martyna Kubka 6-4, 6-0 to earn a spot in the event’s main draw.
The Russian-born Liutova is on a nine-match winning streak, dating back to her victory earlier this month in Memphis, where she made history by becoming the first player born in the 2010s to win a WTA tournament.
“Honestly, I never look at the stats,” Liutova told KIRO Newsradio last week. “When I get told, I forget immediately.”
Instead, Liutova takes things one match at a time.
A US Open first that’s only been done once
To win the US Open, she will need to win seven more matches and streak to 16. That would be an extremely difficult, but not unprecedented feat.
In 2021, British player Emma Raducanu, who was 18 years old at the time, came through qualifying to win the US Open without dropping a set. She was the first and only qualifier, male or female, to win a Grand Slam singles tournament in the Open Era.
The main draw matches at the US Open start Sunday.
Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.