Marta Kostyuk reached the French Open quarterfinals by beating four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 on May 31 in Paris. The 23-year-old world number 15 extended her unbeaten run on clay in 2026 to 15 consecutive wins, including titles in Rouen and Madrid, with the latest victory ending Swiatek’s chance at a fifth Roland Garros title [1].
Two days earlier, Kostyuk had defeated Viktorija Golubic 6-4, 6-3 to reach the tournament’s fourth round. That win marked her first advance to the last 16 at Roland Garros since 2021 and continued her strong form on clay this season [2, 3].
Kostyuk, known for using her serve as a key weapon, notably hit an under-arm serve during her match against Golubic when the score was 4-2 in the second set. She said, “I feel like I found again that joy of creating points, changing rhythm, running around a little bit, and it's something I love to do. It's something that's not very difficult for me, so I love to take that advantage against players. Maybe that's the key” [2, 3].
Reflecting on her win over Swiatek, Kostyuk said she was still in shock and described her mindset: “I feel like I’ve given myself more space to just create something, to challenge my opponents. I woke up in the morning and all I thought was ‘what an unbelievable day I have to live today... there’s nothing I could do other than this’. I try not to focus at all on winning and losing, because I’m not playing tennis to win. I’m playing tennis because I love it. I want to connect to people, I want to feel this energy... make people happy and unite people” [1].
Swiatek’s loss came amid a chaotic French Open that saw early exits from other top players, including Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, and Coco Gauff [1].
Kostyuk will play either Elina Svitolina or Belinda Bencic in the quarterfinals.
