Mariia Vainshtein, a 17-year-old Ukrainian refugee, has become a New York City high school tennis champion after fleeing the war in Ukraine. She helped James Madison High School in Brooklyn win the Public Schools Athletic League championship in 2024, its first title since 1978, and also won the individual competition. Last summer, she added the Mayor Dinkins Cup trophy for her division.
Vainshtein was born in Odesa, a port city on the Black Sea that was an early target of Russia's invasion on 24 February 2022. She slept through the explosions that night, but her mother, Anzhelika Kotliantseva, was awake for hours. Within days, the family rushed to a bomb shelter, fled to Moldova, and then to New York, where relatives lived. Vainshtein's father, Oleksandr, could not join them because men were forbidden from leaving Ukraine.
Vainshtein had dreamed of studying in the US, but the war accelerated her move. She struggled initially with no English and was teased at school. Tennis, which she started at age five for medical reasons to help with focusing her eyes, became a key part of her adaptation. She trained at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Bronx, where coach Rob Cizek emphasised mental focus. 'I think that’s a really important part of their growth, both off the court but also later when they face adversity,' Cizek said.
Vainshtein's mother said she is 'very proud' of her daughter's achievements in such a short time. Vainshtein plans to continue playing tennis when she goes to college in the autumn. Her father, who remained in Odesa, has been able to watch her play a couple of times a year when they meet in the US or another country.
