Dayana wrapped her arms around her father and cried. She had to let go. A small boat was waiting to take her and her sister away. Her father drove them from their home in Odessa to Izmail, a small city in the Danube Delta. She saw the damage the war had done when they drove on Friday. Buildings were turned to rubble and there was smoke.
The family walked the last five minutes to the harbor to catch the boat that would take Dayana and her sister to Romania. Her entire life was packed in two suitcases as her father kissed her forehead.
She was told by her father that she must take care of each other, strive for her dreams, and always be together.
The sisters walked away from their parents, carrying their suitcases to the boat. When the engine of the boat stopped, they waved at their parents, who were forced to leave behind everything they knew to be home.
Is this a movie or is it real, that was the question that Yastremska pondered over and over again.
She was worried about her practice the next day after laughing with her family. She didn't know if she would ever see her father again. She didn't know if she would have a country to return to.
Despite the horror of the past few days, she plans to compete in the Lyon Open on Monday. The world No. 121, who was ranked as high as No. 21 in January 2020, has three titles to her name.
Nine Ukrainian women are among the top 300 players, while three Ukrainian men are ranked in the top 300.
Elina Svitolina, the world's 15th ranked woman, posted on her social media that her heart was bleeding. Ukrainian people have had another sleepless night. Please help stop the war.
There will be no war if Russia stops fighting. If the fighting stops, there will be no Ukraine, wrote world No. 49 Marta Kostyuk, who played doubles with Yastremska at the Australian Open.
Millions of Ukrainians are facing the consequences of war. Hundreds of Ukrainians have been killed. A senior U.S. defense official told reporters that there have been more than 250 missile launches from Russian forces. More than 150,000 people have crossed from Ukraine to other countries.
She knew it was important for the world to see the impact of war, but she didn't want to draw attention to herself. She was flooded with messages from strangers and fellow tennis players after she posted about her journey. The players commented on her post.
She woke up from her sleep in the early hours of Thursday.
Her skin broke into goose bumps as the sound of bombs echoed across the city. She rubbed sleep out of her eyes and ran to her parents.
The news channels blared that the Russian military had begun its invasion. They were attacking from all directions, and the port city of Odessa, which is located on the west of the Black Sea, was under threat.
They ran to the parking garage after leaving their apartment. They were told to hide. They were huddled together for comfort. Some of her friends were gathering in underground metro stations while others were looking for parking in close proximity to them.
She thought the next explosion would land in their apartment. She thought it would take one bomb and one missile to wipe them off the earth.
"I am so scared. We don't need to kill each other like this." Dayana Yastremska
After her father thought things had calmed down, they went back to their apartment to check the news. The local news channel said things were going to get worse.
Her father told them to get out of here.
The borders ofMoldavian were closed. He made up his mind after hearing stories of people escaping. He would take them to the border and put them on a boat.
If commercial planes in and out of Ukranian were not allowed to leave, then the only way for Yastremska and her sister to go to France would be by plane. They went back to the parking garage to wait. They would leave before dawn. Her father thought it was the best time to drive a car.
It was on a boat that she found herself and all of her belongings.
Her eyes were puffy from a lack of sleep and she was sitting in her hotel room in Lyon, France. The time was 2:30 p.m. The Ukrainian forces staged a resistance as Russia advanced on their cities.
She said on the video call that she was scared.
She became a refugee and guardian to her younger sister in a matter of hours. She had to deal with her own trauma while taking care of her.
The sisters were put in a car and taken to the capital of Romania, where they stayed in a hotel for a few hours. The two cousins who boarded the boat with them decided to go to Hungary. The tournament director of the Lyon Open welcomed the sisters on their plane to France.
She called her parents frequently. She said they are OK for now. They hid in the parking garage. After dropping off his daughter and sister, her father saw a lot of activity on the roads as Ukrainian soldiers waited to defend their land.
She will walk onto the tennis court as a proud Ukrainian on Monday, after she has thought about tennis for days. She said she would give it her all.
What happens after the Lyon Open?
She said she had no idea.
She said she had to think about her sister's safety.
She thought about the missiles being launched into her home country every few minutes. She bristled, her body reacting involuntarily, her bones feeling the impact of the attack.
She said that she was scared for her parents, her friends, and everyone in her country. I wish nobody had to feel this pain.
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