Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Yulia Putintseva

How Yulia Putintseva built a successful career. Explore key moments that defined the journey.

Yulia Putintseva is a professional tennis player who represents Kazakhstan, originally from Russia. She reached her highest singles ranking of world No. 20 on January 27, 2025, and a doubles ranking of No. 76 on March 17, 2025. She is known for her accomplishments in the world of professional tennis.

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Full Timeline Career & Achievements

May 2009: First Junior Title

In May 2009, Putintseva won her first junior title at the Grade-2 International Junior Tournament Citta' di Prato in singles. Also, in the following week, she won the Grade-1 "Citta' di Santa Croce", also in singles.

December 2009: Orange Bowl Result

In December 2009, at the Grade A Orange Bowl, Putintseva lost in the third round to Ajla Tomljanović.

March 2010: First Semifinal

In March 2010, at a $10k event in Amiens, Putintseva reached her first semifinal as a professional.

October 2010: WTA Tour Debut

In October 2010, Yulia Putintseva made her WTA Tour debut at the Luxembourg Open, losing to Angelique Kerber in the first round.

2010: Junior Career in 2010

In 2010, Putintseva reached the quarterfinals of the Grade-1 Loy Yang Traralgon International, finished runner-up at the Open International Juniors de Beaulieu sur Mer, won Grade-2 International Junior Tournament in Prato, reached two Grade-1 semifinals, reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon, played for Russia at the Youth Olympic Games and reached the quarterfinals, reached the semifinals of the Grade-1 Canadian Open Junior Championships, played her first Grand Slam final at the US Open, reached the final of the Grade-1 International Junior Championships, and reached the quarterfinals at the Dunlop World Challenge.

May 2011: First ITF Title

In May 2011, Putintseva won her first ITF title at the $25k event in Moscow.

2011: Junior Career in 2011

In 2011, Putintseva finished as runner-up at the Grade-1 Traralgon International, reached the third round of the Australian Open and quarterfinals at the French Open, finished runner-up at the Grade-1 Junior International - Roehampton and as quarterfinalist of Wimbledon, reached her third Grand Slam quarterfinal of the year at the US Open, won the Grade-1 International Junior Championships, and finished the year as finalist of the Dunlop World Challenge.

May 2012: Junior World No. 3

In May 2012, Putintseva reached a junior world ranking of No. 3.

June 2012: Switched to Representing Kazakhstan

In June 2012, Yulia Putintseva began representing Kazakhstan instead of Russia in professional tennis.

2012: Junior Career in 2012

2012 was her last season as a junior. She reached the semifinals of the Grade-1 Loy Yang Traralgon International, and reached another Grand Slam singles final, at the Australian Open. Her last tournament was the French Open, where she finished as quarterfinalist.

2012: Transition and Improvements

In 2012, Putintseva switched to representing Kazakhstan, won the $25k Launceston International, reached the semifinals of the $25k event in Almaty, and secured her first WTA Tour match win against Karen Barritza. She also won the $100k Cagnes-sur-Mer and debuted in qualifying for a major at the French Open.

2013: Grand Slam Debut and Top 100 Player

In 2013, Putintseva made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open and recorded her first major match win. She also played her first tournament as a top-100 player at the Qatar Ladies Open.

2014: WTA Tour Quarterfinals

During the 2014 season, Putintseva reached two quarterfinals on the WTA Tour, at the Swedish Open and the Japan Women's Open, as well as one WTA 125 quarterfinal.

2015: First Tour Semifinal and Top-10 Win

In 2015, Putintseva reached her first tour semifinal at the Swedish Open and recorded her first top-10 win at the Nuremberg Cup, defeating Andrea Petkovic.

2016: Major Quarterfinal and Top 50 Ranking

In 2016, Putintseva reached her first major quarterfinal at the French Open and broke into the top 50 for the first time. She also reached the semifinals of the Taiwan Open and the Washington Open, as well as the quarterfinals of the Charleston Open and the Morocco Open.

2017: First WTA Tour Final

In 2017, Putintseva reached her first WTA Tour singles final at the St. Petersburg Trophy, achieving two top-10 wins en route. She also reached the quarterfinals at the Nuremberg Cup and Japan Women's Open.

2018: Second Career Final

In 2018, Putintseva reached the quarterfinals of the Taiwan Open and the French Open. She also reached her second career final, at the Guangzhou Open.

2019: First WTA Tour Title

In 2019, Putintseva won her first WTA Tour singles title at the Nuremberg Cup and reached the quarterfinals of the Birmingham Classic, defeating world No. 1, Naomi Osaka. She also reached the third round of the US Open.

2020: US Open Quarterfinal and Premier-5 Quarterfinal

In 2020, Putintseva reached her first US Open quarterfinal and her first Premier-5 quarterfinal at the Italian Open.

2021: Budapest Grand Prix Win

In 2021, Putintseva won the Budapest Grand Prix, defeating Anhelina Kalinina in the final.

2022: Australian Open and Miami Open Results

In 2022, Putintseva started her season at the Australian Open ranked world No. 42, and lost in the first round. At the Miami Open, she reached the third round.

April 2024: Returned to Top 50

In April 2024, Putintseva reached the quarterfinals at Miami, defeating Cristina Bucșa, 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova, lucky loser Greet Minnen, and 32nd seed Anhelina Kalinina. As a result of this performance, she returned to the top 50 on 8 April 2024.

June 2024: Won first grass court title at the Birmingham Classic

In June 2024, Putintseva won her first grass court title at the Birmingham Classic, defeating Clara Burel, Anhelina Kalinina, lucky loser Caroline Dolehide, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, and Ajla Tomljanović.

July 2024: Returned to Top 30

In July 2024, as a result of defeating world No. 1 Iga Świątek in round three at the Wimbledon Championships, Putintseva returned to the top 30 in the singles rankings, on 15 July 2024.

August 2024: New Career High Doubles Ranking

In August 2024, at the Cincinnati Open, Putintseva reached the final in doubles with Leylah Fernandez. As a result, she reached a new career-high doubles ranking in the top 100 on 26 August 2024.