Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk battles through missile strike grief to win French Open match
She found out before the match that a missile almost hit her parents’ home in Ukraine (Getty Images)
Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk secured a victory in her opening-round match at the French Open, hours after a missile strike occurred just 100 metres from her parents’ home in Kyiv.
The 23-year-old became emotional during her on-court interview, tearfully describing the morning as “very difficult” and dedicating her thoughts and heart to the people of Ukraine. She said she received a message at 8 a.m. and could not stop thinking what could have happened. “I felt sick,” she said. “If it was 100 meters closer, I probably wouldn’t have a mom and a sister today.”
The missile strike near Kostyuk’s family home was part of a wider wave of Russian attacks overnight that resulted in four fatalities in Kyiv and at least 83 injuries across Ukraine.
Kostyuk, the 15th seed, defeated Russian-born Oksana Selekhmeteva, who now represents Spain, but notably did not shake her opponent’s hand, maintaining a stance adopted by Ukrainian players against Russian or Belarusian competitors.
Currently in strong form, having recently won the Madrid Open and Rouen Open, Kostyuk described the match as “one of the most difficult” of her career and is set to face Katie Volynets of the USA in the second round.
