New York (AFP) – Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok became a Grand Slam champion at the US Open on Friday, just two days after cancelling her wedding. Kichenok, 32, teamed up with Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko to beat Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-3 in the women’s doubles final.
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On Wednesday, she had been planning to marry boyfriend Stas Khmarsky, who is also Ostapenko’s coach. But a run to the championship match for the seventh seeds meant the ceremony was temporarily shelved.
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“My boyfriend and I were supposed to get married on Wednesday but it didn’t happen,” said Kichenok. “We actually had the appointment but I was playing the semi-finals.”
© 2024 AFP
