In April, Marta Kostyuk was practicing in the red soil of Ukraine as air-raid sirens echoed in the background, a stark reminder of the reality her family continues to face in Kyiv. Even at the ongoing French Open, she carried those emotions with her, at one point showing the situation on her phone during a post-match press conference. Still, after knocking out Iga Swiatek, Kostyuk remains remarkably grounded, insisting that playing for unity and a greater purpose matters more than simply winning.
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“I want to keep enjoying, you know, I try not to focus at all on winning or losing, because, you know, I’m not playing tennis to win, I’m playing tennis because I love it,” Kostyuk explained in the post-match interview, speaking about how she plans to maintain her winning mindset.
Expanding on that thought, she added, “I want to connect to people, I want to feel this energy coming to the court and, you know, make people happy and unite people.”
Those words came shortly after a remarkable performance against four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek. Kostyuk defeated the Polish ace 7-5, 6-1, earning her first victory over the Pole after losing their previous 3 meetings.
Despite the significance of the win, the Ukrainian pointed to a different reason behind her success on clay this season. She believes giving herself more freedom on court has made a major difference.
“I feel like I’ve given myself more space to just create something, you know, to challenge my opponents, and I think the most important thing that I’ve been doing, this whole time, is really trying to enjoy.”
The results certainly back up her words as well. Kostyuk remains undefeated on clay this season and has built one of the strongest records on the tour. She is now 15-0 in WTA Tour while collecting two titles along the way. Adding her Billie Jean King Cup victory in April, her overall clay-court record this year stands at 16-0.
Her run at this year’s French Open has also brought more deep tournament appearances. Kostyuk has now reached her 3rd clay-court QF of the season, adding Roland Garros to previous QF runs in Rouen and Madrid. Before this year, she had only reached two clay-court QF in her entire career, doing so in Istanbul in 2021 and Stuttgart in 2024.
Historically, her start to this year’s clay season places her in elite company. Kostyuk is only the 5th player this century to win her first 16 clay-court matches of a season, joining icons like Venus Williams (2004), Serena Williams (2012 and 2013), Justine Henin (2005), and Swiatek (2022).
Adding to that, she also owns a 6-3 record against top 10 opponents this season including winning the Madrid Open. Only the 7th ranked Elina Svitolina and Kazakh international Elena Rybakina have recorded more top 10 victories, with 7 each.
Reflecting on the special day, Kostyuk later said, “You know, I woke up today in the morning and all I thought about, what an unbelievable day I have to live today and play on Chatrier and play against Iga, and you know, there is nothing else I would rather do today than this.”
Now heading into the French Open QF, Kostyuk’s game appears to have evolved to another level during this year’s clay-court season.
Who is waiting for Marta Kostyuk next at the French Open?
With her impressive run continuing, Marta Kostyuk is now eyeing for her next opponent between Belinda Bencic or fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.
If Svitolina advances, it will create a historic moment for Ukrainian tennis. It would mark only the second time that two Ukrainian WTA players have reached the QF of the same Grand Slam tournament.
The first instance came at the 2024 AO, when Dayana Yastremska and Kostyuk both reached the last eight. It would also be the first time such an achievement has happened at the French Open.
Kostyuk and Svitolina know each other well. Their H2H record currently stands at 1-1. Kostyuk won their most recent meeting in Toronto back in 2024. However, Svitolina claimed victory in their first encounter at the 2018 AO.
Should the Olympic gold winner secure her place in the QF instead, she would achieve a notable milestone for Swiss tennis. Bencic would become the first Swiss woman to reach the French Open QF since Timea Bacsinszky in 2017.
Another Swiss player, Jil Teichmann, could also join Bencic in the QF if she defeats Mirra Andreeva to make that happen.
Bencic also holds a strong advantage over Kostyuk in their previous meetings. The Swiss star leads their H2H record 3-0, with victories in Miami in 2022 and later in Abu Dhabi and Dubai during the 2023 season.
However, none of those matches were played on clay. If they meet in the French Open this year, it would be their first clay-court showdown.
As for the world No. 15, she appeared relaxed and full of confidence during her win over Iga Swiatek, even dancing along to the music at times. Whether that energy can carry her all the way to the semis of the French Open remains to be seen, but her remarkable run is far from over.
