Kichenok wins Grand Slam title two days after after postponing wedding
By AFP
September 7, 2024 12:17 AM
Ukraine's Lyudmyla Kichenok became a Grand Slam champion at the US Open on Friday, just two days after canceling her wedding.
Kichenok, 32, teamed up with Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko to beat Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-3 in the women's doubles final.
On Wednesday, she had been planning to marry boyfriend Stas Khmarsky who is also Ostapenko's coach.
But a run to the championship match for the seventh seeds meant the ceremony was temporarily shelved.
"My boyfriend and I were supposed to get married on Wednesday but it didn't happen," said Kickenok.
"We actually had the appointment but I was playing in the semi-finals."