Kristina Liutova’s dream run at the Memphis Classic continued on Friday as the 16-year-old qualifier pulled off a third successive Top 100 upset, defeating No. 6 seed Caty McNally 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semifinals on her WTA debut.<\/p>\n
Liutova, who became the first player born in 2010 to reach a WTA semifinal, described her week as “a miracle journey” in her on-court interview afterwards. But for all her youth and inexperience, the hallmarks of her run have been her remarkable match maturity and belief that she belongs at this level.<\/p>\n
Against No. 1 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round, Liutova won the first set from 4-2 down, then twice trailed by a break in the third set before Alexandrova was forced to retire due to heat illness two points from defeat. In the second round, Liutova came from a set down to oust Maya Joint; and against McNally, she overturned deficits of 3-1 in the first set and 4-0 in the second to run away with the last five games of each. From 4-0 down in the second set, Liutova conceded just four more points in the match.<\/p>\n
Liutova attributed her turnarounds against Joint and McNally to “a little mental shift” that she made.<\/p>\n
“During the second set, around 2-1, \u00a0think I unlocked another side of me,” Liutova said after defeating Joint. “My mom gave me an\u00a0advice, like a reminder that I’m still in a WTA [tournament]. She\u00a0told me just to play the tennis\u00a0I want to, so I come out of the court happy, and that kind of\u00a0unlocked another side of me.”<\/p>\n
The same pattern repeated a day later against McNally.<\/p>\n
“At 0-4, I locked back in,” said Liutova afterwards. “It was also very mental — I just didn’t let my emotions out of me, and I continued to play and enjoy the battle. I think I let her play her best game, then the shift was mental. I just calmed myself down, calmed my head and tried to play the same as in the first set. Don’t think about anything except the ball and me.”<\/p>\n
Liutova’s season already includes three World Tennis titles — the Las Vegas W35, Indian Harbour Beach W100 and Sumter W100 — and her record now stands at 31-4. But she’s still awestruck by her surroundings in her first tour-level event, describing her experience as “like stepping into a different world.”<\/p>\n
It’s a world she’s dreamed of for as long as she can remember. Liutova’s mother — a keen amateur player and avid fan of the sport introduced her to tennis when she was 3 years old, and Liutova’s love of training meant a professional career was something she aspired to early on. A trip to the 2022 US Open, when she was 12 years old, cemented this — Liutova was able to watch her two favorite players, Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal, in the flesh.<\/p>\n
“It was the last time before Serena retired,” Liutova recalled. “I was really glad I got to catch her.”<\/p>\n
As unlikely as it might have seemed back then, there’s a chance that Liutova might cross paths with Serena again this summer. The 44-year-old 23-time major champion returned to professional action last month during the grass season, though she has yet to announce any further plans for the North American hard-court season. Liutova, who began 2026 ranked No. 714 and entered Memphis at No. 229, will break the Top 200 for the first time next week — which could seal her Grand Slam qualifying debut at the US Open next month.<\/p>\n
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