One of the Slam highlights is finding a “Newbie…” someone who is playing a major for the first time… whose name I may have read but had never watched play and who happens to have a “By the way…” backstory
Oleksandra Oliynykova, who turned 25 on January 3rd, was my AO ’26 discovery.
Ranked No. 92 prior to the Women’s Singles first round, she had appeal… her “Junk Ball Game” was all about retrieving shots, staying in points all day… an approach defined by stroke variety… a style that she explained, “I do weird things on court… because… it’s not always about winning and losing… enjoying the whole experience is more important…”. This was the reason she wore ever-changing removable tattoos and T-shirts that called attention to her reality.
She was candid… “A Messenger…” using every opportunity to talk about the Ukrainian situation and specifically about her father Denis, who had been her coach but became an army drone operator. At the outbreak of the war, the family became political refugees escaping to Croatia, but her father decided to return to Kyiv and defend his country
Oliynykova lives and trains in Kyiv and her apartment building is shelled regularly. Often there is no electricity for heating as missiles have destroyed the local power stations.
She began playing professional tournaments in 2017, but the political situation made it difficult to really compete until 2023.
In a story from The Independent by Dennis Passa, “Ukrainian star sends powerful T-shirt message at Australian Open”, Oliynykova said that her father is her hero, “He is my biggest supporter and has been since childhood. I’m so proud of him and that’s something that’s keeping me motivated even more.
“After he joined the military, I have improved my ranking over 200 places. I know it was his dream to see me on this court, and I would do everything to make him proud.”
She revealed that, “Since I started my pro year career, I was hearing that I will not be in top 1,000, then in top 500, in top 300, and in top 100.
“All these people telling me that I won’t be able to progress with this game style. But actually, I saw today that even for one of the best players in the world, it could be really uncomfortable.”
Oliynykova played her first round match against 9th seed Madison Keys and puzzled the defending champion with her unique style. She was ahead 4-0 before Keys regrouped to forge a 7-6(6), 6-1 victory in an hour and 40 minutes.
Throughout the contest, Oliynykova was true to herself and enjoyed the “Public Moment…”, often applauding her opponent’s shots and smiling during the contest because it was a joyous occasion…
Oliynykova waved to the crowd after shaking hands with Keys at the match’s conclusion. She stayed on court and listened as Keys praised her. When the winner and the crowd in Rod Laver Arena applauded her performance, she proudly smiled.
Speaking with the press Keys said, “It’s just been a really long time to play someone who plays that style, but she does it so effectively. They’re so high and they’re so deep. It was really hard. I felt like I couldn’t really take a swing volley or kind of like take it off of the bounce just because she hits such a good ball off of that.”