She woke up to 'We’re at war' in Ukraine. Now Mariia Vainshtein is a New York City tennis champion

NEW YORK (AP) — Mariia Vainshtein never heard the noise and slept straight through that horrible night four years ago.

She didn’t have her phone near bed when she woke the next morning — it probably had been taken by her parents for some teenager's misbehavior, she suspects now with a laugh – so couldn’t scroll around for the news of the day. Instead, she just asked her mother when she could get a ride to school.

Anzhelika Kotliantseva knew they weren’t going anywhere in Ukraine that day. Not after she had been awake for hours, listening to the nearby explosions that began when Russia launched its invasion.

“My mom was like, ’What do you mean? We’re at war! There’s no school, no nothing!'" Vainshtein said.

Within days, a dream of someday going to the U.S. for an education was rushed into reality, one she wasn't ready for. No command of English, no father with her to help console her on the days she returned from school upset after kids picked on her for the way she talked.

Those difficult early days are past. Now 17, Vainshtein is a New York City high school tennis champion who may keep playing when she heads to college in the fall.

“I’m very proud of her. Very proud,” Kotliantseva said. “I’m so excited that she’s going to college, and she’s gone so far in this short time.”

Vainshtein helped James Madison High School in Brooklyn win the Public Schools Athletic League championship in 2024, its first title since 1978. She also won the individual competition, and last summer added the trophy for her division in the Mayor Dinkins Cup, a tournament for New York City players from both public and private schools.

Vainshtein's home city of Odesa produced professional women's tennis players Elina Svitolina, who reached this year's Australian Open semifinals, and Dayana Yastremska. Her father also played when he was younger. But her introduction to the sport at age 5 was for medical reasons as much as physical.

She struggled focusing her eyes when she was younger, and a doctor recommended getting her into a sport where she would have to follow a ball. Vainshtein played in junior tournaments in Ukraine, and her tennis went to another level when she began training at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning in the Bronx.

She tried out and was accepted into the New York Junior Tennis & Learning's free scholar athlete program for grades 3-12, where the tennis instruction is mixed with life skills education. When Rob Cizek began working with Vainshtein, he could tell she was an aggressive player who liked to win points with her power, but sometimes rushed too much. Cizek, who studied sports psychology while he was a college player, makes mental focus an aspect of his coaching, and it paid off for her on and off the court.

“We talk to them, ‘OK, what happened here? How did you handle this? How can you handle it better next time?’ and I think that’s something that sometimes gets overlooked,” Cizek said. “But to me it’s a really important part of their growth, both off the court but also later when they face adversity, tough situations and they have some tools to handle that.”

Vainshtein and her family had already dealt with that.

Odesa is a port city on the Black Sea and was an early target of Russia's attacks, with explosions heard before dawn on Feb. 24, 2022. Her family first rushed to a bomb shelter, then fled to nearby Moldova. Deciding it still wouldn't be safe in Ukraine, Kotliantseva brought her two daughters to New York, where the parents and sister of her husband and Mariia's father, Oleksandr, live. Only he couldn't join them, because men were forbidden from leaving Ukraine.

“It was terrible. In three days we decided to move, me and my two daughters, and my husband left in Ukraine, and we didn’t know if we’d see him again and when we’d see him again,” said Kotliantseva, who like many initially thought the war would be short.

“We took our clothes for two months,” she said.

They see Oleksandr, who has remained in the family's home in Odesa, a couple of times a year now, and he has been able to watch his daughter play. They meet either in the U.S. or another country, as Vainshtein's parents have viewed Ukraine as too dangerous to let her return since they left.

Vainshtein hoped to come to the U.S. for college, which would have meant this year — school in Ukraine runs through what would be 11th grade in American high schools. But her mother would still be home with her husband if not for the war.

“I did it for my kids and now I’m OK. I adapted. It was difficult,” Kotliantseva said.

And it was especially so for her daughter, then in eighth grade. While students in Ukraine are required to study English, Vainshtein explained that was more writing and grammar. It didn't do much good when it came to speaking and understanding — especially in New York, where they do it quickly.

She would plead with teachers not to call on her in class so she wouldn't be laughed at, asking if just turning in all her assignments would be good enough.

“Really what people did, they said, ‘You have to learn English. Go back to your country and learn English,’” Vainshtein said. “Like, what do you mean go back? My country is at war, so I can’t go back.”

A turning point came when one of her teachers denied her request to use translation help. That pushed Vainshtein to improve her speaking, to the point where she finally became confident to present in class.

So confident, in fact, that even though James Madison fell short in its hopes of a repeat tennis title in Vainshtein's senior year, she's eyeing another championship. She's on the school's team that finished second in the state in the “We the People” competition, where students have to demonstrate their knowledge of the Constitution and law through simulated congressional hearings, and they're headed to the nationals this spring.

Preparation for that has put tournament tennis on a bit of a hold, though Vainshtein still makes the hour-plus commute from Brooklyn to the Bronx every weekend for her lengthy practice day. Soon, she may have to decide what role the sport that helped her adjustment to a new country will occupy.

She's applied to some Ivy League colleges, and isn't sure about playing if she attended one of them. But she likely could at the lower Division I to top Division III schools that could also be considered.

“It’s not like if I go to a school where I can’t be on a team, it’s not like I’m going to end playing tennis,” Vainshtein said. “I’m going to play no matter what.”

AP Sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Mariia Vainshtein enters the court for tennis practice at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning in the Bronx borough of New York, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.(AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Coach Robert Cizek looks on as Mariia Vainshtein participates in drills during tennis practice at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning in the Bronx borough of New York, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Anzhelika Kotlyantseva shows an old photo of her daughter, Mariia Vainshtein, wearing the flag of Ukraine after she won a tennis tournament at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning in the Bronx borough of New York, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

A trophy and the flag of Ukraine belonging to Mariia Vainshtein sits on a table at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning in the Bronx borough of New York, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Mariia Vainshtein participates in drills during tennis practice at the Cary Leeds Center for Tennis and Learning in the Bronx borough of New York, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

MADRID (AP) — There won't be another confrontation between Vinícius Júnior and Gianluca Prestianni in the Champions League this week.

Real Madrid and Benfica will meet at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Wednesday but UEFA banished Prestianni from the game on Monday following accusations he racially abused Vinícius in the first leg of the knockout round last week.

Madrid won 1-0 in Lisbon after Vinícius scored in the second half. But when the Brazil forward celebrated by the Benfica corner flag and upset the local fans and players, the game was halted for nearly 10 minutes. Prestianni confronted Vinícius, who accused the Argentine of calling him “monkey.” Prestianni denied racially insulting Vinícius.

The anti-racism protocol was activated but no further action was taken during the match as there was no evidence against Prestianni, who covered his mouth with his shirt while talking to Vinícius. The Madrid forward was shown a yellow card after his celebration.

UEFA said the one-match suspension of Prestianni from its control, ethics and disciplinary body was related to discriminatory behavior.

“This is without prejudice to any ruling that the UEFA disciplinary bodies may subsequently make following the conclusion of the ongoing investigation and its respective submission to the UEFA disciplinary bodies,” it said in a statement.

Benfica said in a statement that it lamented that Prestianni was suspended while the investigation was underway. It said it would appeal UEFA's suspension. Portuguese media said Prestianni was expected to travel to Madrid with the squad.

Prestianni did not play in Benfica’s 3-0 win over AVS on Saturday in the Portuguese league because of a yellow card suspension, but he was expected to be on the field along with Vinícius during Wednesday's match at the Bernabeu.

Vinícius scored Madrid's goal in a 2-1 loss at Osasuna on Saturday in La Liga.

Missing for Benfica on Wednesday will be coach José Mourinho, who was sent off late in the first leg for complaining to the referee. The former Madrid coach criticized Vinícius for celebrating his goal by the Benfica flag.

Benfica said Mourinho was not going to attend the pre-game news conference on Tuesday, with his assistant taking over.

Mourinho said Saturday it was a “tough week” for everyone at Benfica. He declined to comment when asked if he regretted his criticism of Vinícius.

On Tuesday, small Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt will look to keep its surprising run going when it takes a two-goal advantage for the second leg at Inter Milan.

The first leg win followed back-to-back wins against Manchester City and Atletico Madrid in the league phase.

Inter, last year’s Champions League runner-up, will hope to overcome the deficit and show the loss in Norway was a fluke amid a run of seven wins in eight games across all competitions.

“Sometimes we produce our best in big matches, other times we don’t,” Inter defender Manuel Akanji said. “But there aren’t two different versions of Inter. Yes, we lost to Bodø/Glimt last time out in the Champions League but we’re still the same team capable of great things.”

Another Italian club which will need a comeback will be Juventus when it hosts Galatasaray on Wednesday after losing 5-2 in the first leg in Turkey.

Juventus has been struggling, though, and is coming off a 2-0 home loss to Como in Serie A that hurt its hopes of Champions League qualification next season. It was Juventus’ third straight defeat across all competitions and its fifth game in a row without a win.

Defending European champion Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco won in Ligue 1 this weekend ahead of their second leg in Paris on Wednesday. Monaco's 3-2 victory over Lens allowed PSG to regain the league lead after beating Metz 3-0.

In the Champions League, PSG came from two goals down against Monaco to win the first leg 3-2. Désiré Doue, who scored twice against Monaco, also found the net in the win against Metz.

Atletico squandered a two-goal lead and conceded late in a 3-3 draw in its first leg at Club Brugge.

Diego Simeone's team rebounded ahead of Tuesday's return match by defeating Espanyol 4-2 in La Liga on Saturday. Ademola Lookman scored again, earning his fourth goal in six matches since being signed by Atletico.

“It's always important to win ahead of an important match like the one we have on Tuesday,” Simeone said.

Also on Tuesday, Newcastle will be in control when it hosts Qarabag defending a 6-1 first-leg win, while Bayer Leverkusen holds a 2-0 lead from its win at Olympiakos. Borussia Dortmund also won 2-0 in the first leg against Atalanta ahead of the return game in Italy.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior argues with Benfica's head coach José Mourinho after scoring the opening goal during a Champions League playoff soccer match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid in Lisbon, Portugal, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Rocha)

Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni fights for the ball against Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior during a Champions League playoff soccer match between SL Benfica and Real Madrid in Lisbon, Portugal, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Rocha)