Meet Kristina Liutova, the 16-year-old on a dream run to the Memphis semis
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.
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.
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.
Liutova attributed her turnarounds against Joint and McNally to "a little mental shift" that she made.
"During the second set, around 2-1, think I unlocked another side of me," Liutova said after defeating Joint. "My mom gave me an advice, like a reminder that I'm still in a WTA [tournament]. She told me just to play the tennis I want to, so I come out of the court happy, and that kind of unlocked another side of me."
The same pattern repeated a day later against McNally.
"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."
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."
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.
"It was the last time before Serena retired," Liutova recalled. "I was really glad I got to catch her."
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.
