Historic final for Ukraine: tennis player from Kherson region defeats Odesa player

Angelina Kalinina, a tennis player from Kherson, won the WTA 125 tournament in Antalya, Turkey. In the final, she defeated another Ukrainian athlete, Oleksandra Oliynykova from Odesa.

This was reported by Sport.ua.

The final match took place on Sunday, March 8, and became special for Ukrainian tennis, as two representatives of Ukraine met in the decisive match. It was the first face-to-face meeting between Kalinina and Oleinikova at the professional level.

The match ended with the victory of the tennis player from Nova Kakhovka in three sets - 6:3, 3:6, 6:2.

For Angelina Kalinina, this final was her second in a row on the courts of Antalya. A week earlier, she also reached the deciding match, but then lost to Japanese tennis player Moyuka Utijima.

With this victory, the Ukrainian won her third career title at the WTA 125 tournaments. Previously, she became the champion of the competition in Limoges, France, in 2022 and 2025.

On her way to victory in Antalya, Kalinina defeated several opponents, including Ekaterina Gorgodze, Elina Avanesyan, Panna Udvardi, and Katarzyna Kava.

For Oleksandra Oliynykova, this final was the fourth in her career at WTA 125 tournaments. Previously, she won similar tournaments in Tolentino, Tucumán and Colina in 2025, and the defeat in Antalya was her first in the finals of this category.

After the match , Oleksandra Oliynykova thanked the fans for their support and noted the warm atmosphere in the stands. The tennis player admitted that the final caused her strong emotions and promised to continue working on her game.

"Thank you to everyone who came to support me. I saw a lot of flags and I am sincerely grateful for that. Now I'm a little emotional, but I promise to work even harder to be more experienced next time," the athlete said. She also added: "I am very happy about this final. Glory to Ukraine."

In her comments, Angelina Kalinina congratulated her opponent on her successful performance at the tournament and noted that the final match was not easy.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate Alexandra on a great week. It was a very difficult final," she said.

The winner wished her opponent good luck in the upcoming tournaments, as the tennis players will be starting new tournaments in a few days. Kalinina also thanked the organizers and sponsors of the competition for hosting the tournament and addressed the fans:

"I thank all the Ukrainian fans and everyone who supported us today. It is a great pleasure to play in front of you."

Ірина Глухова