Marta Kostyuk sweeps past Elina Svitolina in French Open quarterfinal that meant more to Ukraine

PARIS – With the imposing attack and fine serving that has made her one of the best clay-court players of the season, Marta Kostyuk made history on a rainy Tuesday in Paris by becoming the first Ukrainian woman to reach a singles semifinal at the French Open.

She did it by beating her compatriot, Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, in the first all-Ukrainian quarterfinal at Roland Garros. It was a match that felt fitting for a tournament speckled with sobering reminders of the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, Kostyuk broke down in tears after her first-round win in Paris, explaining that hours before, a missile had landed “100 meters” from her family’s home in Kyiv. Oleksandra Oliynykova, a 25-year-old who lost in the third round here, adorned her racket bag with the triton symbol of the Ukraine army, in which her father serves as a volunteer. Oliynykova has been directly criticizing top Russian and Belarusian players since the Australian Open and continued to do so in Paris.

There were more tears from Kostyuk Tuesday, who will face 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva in the first Grand Slam semifinal of her career.

“We had a very difficult night again in Ukraine, especially in Kyiv, and I want to give this match to the Ukrainian people and their resilience,” Kostyuk said. “First I want to point out Elina and their incredible impact on Ukrainian tennis. … I want to thank her again for this incredible match.”

Beyond the historical significance of the meeting, Kostyuk and Svitolina gave fans a good show under the roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Svitolina arrived at her sixth career French Open quarterfinal having authored one of the finest seasons of her long, accomplished career. After taking an extra-long offseason last fall to address burnout, she returned to the tour in 2026 and so far has two titles to show for it. They include the all-important Italian Open, a WTA 1000 event played on red clay at the level below a Grand Slam, where she bested last year’s French Open champion Coco Gauff in the final.

Yet Svitolina, with her 20 career WTA titles sitting alongside an 0-4 record in Grand Slam semifinals, maintained a realistic, characteristically even-keeled outlook about her status as a frontrunner at this tournament. Svitolina is one of the more unflappable players on the WTA Tour, at times even seeming immune to scoreboard pressure — and she’s also made peace with the idea that she may never win a Grand Slam title.

“I’m not thinking too much. I think people are talking too much about it,” Svitolina chuckled in a news conference, waving her hand. “I’m in good form, but I think there are still players who are more favorites than me – I think at least five players who are, you know, still bigger, they have bigger chances to win this tournament.”

By the time Kostyuk arrived at Tuesday’s quarterfinal, she was thinking about things a little differently. Her fourth-round upset of four-time French Open champion Iga Świątek Sunday shook her out of the underdog mentality she arrived with in Paris.

Kostyuk has sped through clay-court season, picking up two titles on the dirt, and entered Tuesday with an impressive 16-match win streak. But Grand Slam success had felt far away for the No. 15 seed, who had only reached one major quarterfinal in her career, at the 2024 Australian Open.

Until she beat Świątek.

“Maybe a lot of things will change after this tournament or not,” Kostyuk said with a smile Sunday. “I’m not going to be considered an underdog anymore, but I don’t mind to be in either position. I take it as it is.”

She certainly didn’t play like an underdog Tuesday.

Kostyuk zipped to a 4-1 lead before Svitolina was able to make any inroads on her serve. Svitolina worked her way back into the set, only for her first serve to desert her at 3-4. The 31-year-old gave up the break, and Kostyuk, 23, served out to take a 1-0 lead. Her ball speed and aggressiveness meant that she was in control of most outcomes, even in the second set, when the speed dropped and Svitolina took advantage by pinning her opponent in the corners and moving forward into the net.

Kostyuk’s aggressiveness and relentless defense returned in the third, and she ultimately overwhelmed a fading Svitolina. The 23-year-old is one of the fastest players on the WTA Tour, and she sprinted through their long rallies without needing to pause for a breath. It was rare that Svitolina could find a corner Kostyuk couldn’t reach.

Kostyuk will need her legs again going forward, for her third match against a talented clay-court player. Andreeva, the No. 8 seed, is the only woman who has won more on clay this season than Kostyuk has, with her 19 wins including a title at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz Open.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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