Marta Kostyuk came through “one of the most difficult matches” of her career in the first round of the French Open, but it was events back home in Ukraine that were playing heavily on her mind.
Playing in her first match since she won back-to-back titles at the WTA 250 Open de Rouen and WTA 1000 Madrid Open, Kostyuk kicked off her campaign at Roland Garros against Oksana Selekhmeteva on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
But she admitted it was a difficult morning filled with tears due to Russia’s ongoing airstrikes on her home country with her parents’ house not far from the latest missile strikes.
The 23-year-old managed to keep her emotions in check and produced an excellent display to defeat Selekhmeteva 6-2, 6-3 to take her unbeaten run to 12 matches.
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During her post-match on-court interview, the 15th seed was nearly overcome by emotion, revealing: “I’m incredibly proud of myself today. I think it was one of the most difficult matches of my career.
“This morning, 100 metres from my parents’ house, the missile destroyed the building. It was a very difficult morning. I didn’t know how this match is gonna turn out for me. I didn’t know how I would handle it.
“I’ve been crying part of the morning. I don’t wanna talk about myself today. I’m very pleased to be in the second round, but all of my thoughts and all my heart goes to the people of Ukraine today. Thank you so much for coming out. Slava Ukraine.”
Kostyuk was among the first winners at the 2026 clay-court Grand Slam and her second-round opponent is yet to be confirmed with Katie Volynets and Clara Burel still to take to court in Paris.
But with the win in the bag, it was time to celebrate the people of Ukraine.
Kostyuk added: “Because I think it’s important to keep going. My biggest example is the Ukrainian people. I woke up in the morning today and I looked at all these people who woke up and kept living their live, kept helping people who are in need.
“I knew a lot of Ukrainian flags would be here today and a lot of Ukrainian people would come out and support. My friends from Ukraine came as well. Very happy to have them here. Not much I can say.”
The post French Open: Marta Kostyuk delivers emotional speech after victory – ‘I’ve been crying’ appeared first on Tennis365.
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