Yuliia Zhytelna Showcases Toughness On and Off The Court

NORTHRIDGE, Calif --- Yuliia Zhytelna is the captain of the CSUN Women's Tennis team. She plays at No.1 doubles and singles for every match, a spot reserved for the strongest player on one's respective team. She is in her senior season, and she is from war-torn Ukraine. A country that hasn't been the same since February 2022.

Zhytelna's family has been through a lot. She talks to them every day but Yuliia herself has not been in her country since August 2021. She noted in her interview with GoMatadors.com the differences between her home country and California couldn't be more stark. Her coaches are different, the environment is different, the food, the weather, and the atmosphere are completely the opposite of how she has grown up. In the Ukraine, her coaches treated Zhytelna with tough love, raising her with a strict mindset that has turned her into a leader on the court for the Matadors. Her coaches at CSUN have to remind her to have fun, and joke with her during practice to keep her morale in a good place.

She carries a lot on her shoulders, and that couldn't be more of an understatement. There were times this season that she didn't know if her father would be alive. Yuliia's dad currently works on the border of Ukraine where he can visibly see drone strikes. She cherishes every phone call with her parents, as she checks in every day. Her entire family is all around the world because of the war, with her brother and sister in different countries as well. The last time Zhytelna saw her sister, she was a young child, and now she is blossoming into a young adult, a journey Yuliia has unfortunately seen from afar.

"Everything that Yuliia is going through really puts things into perspective." Head coach Gary Victor said. "Yuliia always wants to do more work and work harder than anyone else. She's had to fight through emotions that her family and our country might not be there tomorrow.

"She has shown more strength than I could ever dream of," Victor added.

To be able to compartmentalize everything that is happening in her own country is a feat not many people can accomplish. Just ask her doubles partner, Madison Shepperson. Throughout the year she has trained with Zhytelna and been with her through the tough competition during the season. Shepperson and Zhytelna won nine straight doubles matches to begin the year, leading them to the best doubles record on the team.

"She's a big inspiration to me." Shepperson said. "I have learned a ton from her. She's a fighter, as soon as she steps on to the court, she has the mindset of a winner. Yuliia keeps me and the rest of my team motivated. With her leadership, she helps me lock into a match. Even during tough times over the course of a duel, Yuliia displays tremendous strength."

"Every single point matters," Shepperson added.

There was a moment this past season during CSUN's matchup with UC Riverside that exemplified her tenacity. It was a very hot day, and it appeared to Yuliia that some of her teammates were struggling. Zhytelna told everyone to keep pushing. She faced the pressure from the opposing crowd as well. The crowd, the heat, going up against the Highlanders' best player, would make anyone nervous. The senior from Ukraine pushed through, not only leading her team to victory, but earning the win via a third-set tiebreaker.

"The thing about Yuliia is that she never gives up." said Shepperson.

Coach Victor says that her maturity has come a long way since her freshman year.

"She's come a long way since she first stepped foot on campus. We're really proud of the progress she's made." Victor said. "Her energy is infectious. She's an amazing game day leader."

Zhytelna credits her coaching staff at CSUN for helping her through her collegiate career and the tough times she faced. "They truly believed in me from the very beginning," Zhytelna said.

In her third season, her junior year, Zhytelna really started to hit a groove. She was 8-8 in singles play but really shined in doubles, earning an 11-5 record with former Matador Sasha Turchak.

Back in her home country she trained on the tennis court from the early morning to the late evening. She had intentions to go pro since the very beginning. Her initial coaches back in her home country were professional players for the Soviet Union. She came from a training program that was very serious, a sort of cold-shoulder type of mentorship that is much different from the states. She points out that it was part of the reason why she couldn't let loose in her first couple years of CSUN.

The country of Ukraine as a whole has definitely seen better days. When the war initially started, Zhytelna said it was incredibly difficult to just put that aside and play as if nothing was happening.

She mentioned to GoMatadors that she didn't feel comfortable playing until 2023. There was a moment in time, a match where she was playing doubles against a couple of Russian players, when it really hit her, and how she was representing her country in that moment.

"It was so hard to play that match because I was thinking of everything happening," said Zhytelna. "Since that day whenever I struggle in a match, I remember who I am and where I come from, and all of the strength comes back, as I am fighting for my friends back home."

Still, playing 6,000 miles away from your home would be hard on anyone. Zhytelna says that no matter what she tries to explain to her coaches and teammates, it's hard for anyone to truly understand. Here in California, the weather is nice, the vibes are more relaxed. People just don't truly grasp the gravity of the situation she comes from, so it has been hard to relay that to her friends and coaches at CSUN.

Zhytelna is a senior this year, and she has goals of going pro. She played in a professional tournament in January, and she was able to keep up with the high level of competition. In her own words, California has many tournaments going on year-round, with chances to prove her worth on the court in many environments.

"For now though, I am just trying to play every match to the best of my abilities and lead my team to the best results." Zhytelna said,

The war has been going on for three years now. Of course, everyone in her home country is waiting for the day in which the war would end. In March 2025, 31 countries formed a coalition aiming to support Ukraine's sovereignty and facilitate a lasting peace agreement. This group is prepared to deploy peacekeeping forces once a comprehensive ceasefire is achieved. However, the situation is ongoing and tumultuous.

Still, as everything is happening in her home country, Zhytelna is wrapping up her last season as a Matador.

"I just want people to remember me as a tough player," she said. "I have no intention for people to remember me as the best player who played here, but I just want people to recall my time here as a measure of toughness."

Zhytelna and the rest of the CSUN team are preparing for the Big West Championship. CSUN will take on Cal State Fullerton this Thursday in San Diego in the first round of the conference tournament. Zhytelna is trying to lead CSUN to its first Big West title.

Yuliia Zhytelna Showcases Toughness On and Off The Court

Players Mentioned

Madison Shepperson

Sasha Turchak

Yuliia Zhytelna

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