Yulia Putintseva had never taken a set off Iga Swiatek in four meetings, and in nine visits to Wimbledon she had never got past the second round. On 6 July 2024, on No. 1 Court, she lost the first set to the world No. 1 and then won 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Swiatek had come in on a 21-match winning streak.
The Associated Press described how the last two sets went. Putintseva hardly tried to hit winners. She kept the ball in play and let Swiatek miss. Putintseva’s own explanation was about pace. “I was just so focused on just playing fast and not giving her any time and that worked,” she said.
It was her second win over a reigning No. 1, and both came on grass. She had beaten Naomi Osaka in Birmingham in 2019, according to the WTA. “I was thinking actually during play that I did beat the world No. 1 before on grass,” she said. Two weeks before Wimbledon she had won Birmingham, her first grass-court title, beating Ajla Tomljanovic in the final.
Moscow to Kazakhstan
Putintseva was born in Moscow in January 1995 and turned professional in 2009. She played for Russia at first and has represented Kazakhstan since 2012.
Her Grand Slam breakthroughs came on clay. She reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals in 2016 and again in 2018, and made a third major quarterfinal at the 2020 US Open. Her three WTA titles are Nuremberg in 2019, Budapest in 2021, where she beat Anhelina Kalinina in the final, and Birmingham in 2024.
The best ranking came late. She entered the top 20 on 27 January 2025, shortly after her 30th birthday, according to the WTA. She has also been a doubles finalist at a WTA 1000, at Cincinnati in 2024 with Leylah Fernandez. That same week, she beat Coco Gauff in the singles.
Playing style and temperament
Putintseva is 1.63m, a right-hander with a two-handed backhand. She does not win with size, and the Swiatek match was the clearest example of how she does win: by the AP’s account, she made the taller, harder-hitting player hit one more ball, and waited.
Her temper and her celebrations are as well known as her game. After beating Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 in the third round of the 2026 Australian Open, she cupped a hand to her ear towards Sonmez’s supporters and danced at her chair while they booed, ESPN reported. In her on-court interview she said she loved that kind of atmosphere, especially when it was against her.
Grand Slam best results
- Australian Open: fourth round (2026)
- Roland Garros: quarterfinal (2016, 2018)
- Wimbledon: fourth round (2024)
- US Open: quarterfinal (2020)
Season snapshot — 19 September 2026
Ranked in the 80s. Her biggest result of 2026 was the Australian Open fourth round, where Iva Jovic beat her. Between Melbourne and Wimbledon she did not get past the second round at a major or a WTA 1000. At Charleston, eventual champion Jessica Pegula beat her in the second round, and her best result in the summer came on clay, a quarterfinal in Iasi in July. The Asian swing is next on the calendar.
This snapshot is dated and will change. The career record above does not.
