RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Redmond’s Kristina Liutova, 16, continues her long journey to the top of women’s tennis Monday when she plays her first main draw match at a Grand Slam tournament at the 2026 US Open. Liutova’s opponent is a veteran trying to claw her way back to the top of the sport: 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist and former World No. 4 Zheng Qinwen.
Liutova has already made history — more than once
By making it through the qualifying rounds at the US Open last week, Liutova became the first player born in the 2010s to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam. She is the youngest player in the draw at the US Open. In early August, she became the first player born in the 2010s to win a WTA title with her victory at the Memphis Classic.
The Russian-born Liutova is on a nine-match winning streak. Her record in 2026 is 33-4.
“Honestly, I never look at the stats,” Liutova told KIRO Newsradio. “When I get told, I forget immediately.”
A talent so striking it caught the eye of a former top-20 pro
Liutova’s talent was so striking that it caught the eye of Dmitry Tursunov, a former top-20 Russian pro who has gone on to coach some of the biggest names in the sport, including current world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. Tursunov connected the family to the Gorin Tennis Academy, where she’s been training since 2021 and racking up junior titles, including the Orange Bowl and multiple national championships.
Ilya Osintsev was her coach when she first got to America.
“I was genuinely surprised, pleasantly surprised, and shocked to see how an 11-year-old girl can play at such a high level already. I’ve never seen that before,” Osintsev told KIRO Newsradio. “And then when we started working together, when I realized how competitive she is — the same thing. I’ve never seen any player being that competitive. Every single point, every single game, and every single match. She’s just such an amazing competitor.”
Liutova’s coach believed she could beat anyone in Memphis
While they were in Memphis, her coach, Tiago Campana, felt Liutova could beat any player on the other side of the net.
“I could see the level was just like right there compared to every other player,” he told KIRO Newsradio. “I didn’t care much about the ranking or the name or who it was, but I knew she would be able to play tennis there with whoever was the opponent.”
En route to her Memphis title, Liutova beat top seed and World No. 19 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round of the main draw. Then she took out Maya Joint, who beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon earlier this summer.
Liutova is keeping her overall tennis goals and dreams private for now, but she does reveal that she wants to inspire others — and she wants to take care of her mom, who has sacrificed so much to get her where she is today.
“I want to make sure that she’s happy, and in the future she has an easy life — a house, a cat — and just watch my matches with no worries and no pressure,” Liutova said. “My goals and dreams are hers; hers are mine.”
For making the first round of the main draw at the US Open, Liutova is guaranteed $140,000.
Sports Illustrated names Liutova a US Open player to watch
Sports Illustrated is taking notice of Liutova. On Friday, it recognized her as one of “5 Young Players Who Could Shake Up the 2026 US Open.” The other four are some of the biggest names in the sport at the moment, including Rafael Jódar and Arthur Fery from the men’s tour. From the women’s tour, the other two players on that list are 2026 French Open Champion Mirra Andreeva and Alexandra Eala.
Eala, the rapidly rising star from the Philippines, like Liutova, also won her first WTA title this year. She captured the Mubadala DC Open in Washington DC, taking out some of the game’s top players, including two-time former US Open champion and former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka. She also beat Liutova’s upcoming opponent: Zheng Qinwen.
Zheng Qinwen’s comeback sets up a compelling US Open matchup
Zheng, like Liutova, had to play the qualifying rounds of the US Open this year. But in 2023 and 2024, she made the US Open quarterfinals. In 2024, she reached the Australian Open final and the French Open quarterfinals in 2025. But in the summer of 2025, Zheng underwent arthroscopic elbow surgery. As she recovered from surgery, her ranking fell. But, like Liutova, her ranking is now on the rise.
Zheng is currently ranked 121. Liutova’s rank is 125.
They are scheduled to face off on Court 17 at the US Open on Monday morning.
This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
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