World No 15 Marta Kostyuk has spoken after her crushing defeat to Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals at the 2026 French Open.
The Ukrainian star, who was playing in her first-ever Grand Slam semi-final, was dismantled 6-1, 6-3 by world No 8 Andreeva on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Kostyuk hit 15 winners and committed 34 unforced errors as she lost serve five times and broke her 19-year-old Russian rival just once.
The 23-year-old stunned four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 in the fourth round in Paris before beating Ukrainian compatriot Elina Svitolina 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the last eight.
In her post-match press conference, Kostyuk was asked if she put too much pressure on herself before facing Andreeva.
“For me, usually when I go on court, I don’t feel nervous, I don’t feel more pressure. Maybe before the match, obviously everyone feels more nervous,” Kostyuk explained.
“I would say, I don’t care who’s at the other side of the net, I just go out and play the match. Everything that could go her way went her way. Everything that could not go my way didn’t go my way.
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“So, it’s just the type of day. I take it, I had enough tough days, bad days, to know that they end. It’s not the worst thing in the world to lose a match, wherever the stage is.
“First time playing semi-finals… obviously, I have that experience for next time I’m in semi-finals. Maybe I’m going to feel better, different. I don’t know.
“Obviously, not the greatest match from me today, but I don’t think about it that much.”
Kostyuk, who won her two previous matches with Andreeva in straight sets, was then asked if the Russian’s level surprised her.
“I think that this court suits her best of all the tournaments that exist, and I never played her here,” she replied.
“Seeing her record since she’s been 15 or 16 years old playing here, I saw that her record here is 16-3. I came into this tournament being like 4-7.
“So clearly not my best court. It really suits her game. The wind helped a lot today. I didn’t start the best, but it happens. Everyone wins, everyone loses. It’s part of the game. At the end of the day, it’s just a game.
“Yeah, she played good today. She played solid, she wasn’t missing. I was missing more, obviously felt pressure. She was serving much better today.
“I couldn’t do a lot because the court is crazy slow, and she was retrieving all the balls, so I felt like I had to go for more. Obviously that’s what was making me make more mistakes. That’s it.”
Andreeva could face fellow Russian Diana Shnaider in the championship match in Paris.
Asked how she would feel if it was an all-Russian final, Kostyuk replied: “I don’t care… I mean, I don’t care (smiles).”
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