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Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk reacts after the fourth-round tennis against Poland’s Iga Swiatek match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Christophe Ena\/AP Photo\/Christophe Ena<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk returns to Poland’s Iga Swiatek during the fourth-round tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Christophe Ena\/AP Photo\/Christophe Ena<\/p>\n
Poland’s Iga Swiatek returns to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk during the fourth-round tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Christophe Ena\/AP Photo\/Christophe Ena<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk returns to Poland’s Iga Swiatek during the fourth-round tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Christophe Ena\/AP Photo\/Christophe Ena<\/p>\n
PARIS (AP) \u2014 There will be a first-time women\u2019s champion at the French Open this year, and two Ukrainian players are among the strongest contenders.<\/p>\n
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Undefeated this season on clay, 15th-seeded Marta Kostyuk showed her strong credentials as she reached the quarterfinals in Paris for the first time on Sunday by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 and ruining her birthday.<\/p>\n
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She will be up against her compatriot Elina Svitolina next, ensuring there will be an Ukrainian woman semifinalist at Roland Garros for the first time in the professional era (1968). The seventh-seeded Svitolina rallied past Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s going to be Ukraine in the semifinals, so it\u2019s already amazing,\u201d said Svitolina, whose country is in a 4-year-old war with Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it couldn\u2019t be a better, amazing achievement for Ukrainian tennis. I think in such a difficult situation right now in the war, with the invasion, it\u2019s really, really difficult, and I think it\u2019s really inspiring for the next generation to really believe that it is possible one day to play on this court and win.\u201d<\/p>\n
None of the players still in the draw have yet lifted the trophy in Paris, following Coco Gauff\u2019s elimination on Saturday and Swiatek’s exit. It’s the same in the men\u2019s draw, after the defeats of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic and with Carlos Alcaraz absent because of an injury.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Kostyuk had lost her three previous matches against Swiatek and never taken a set against the former top-ranked player, who turned 25 on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still in shock. To beat such an unbelievable player, who won four times here,” she said.<\/p>\n Kostyuk has been the best player of the clay-court season. She defended extremely well, chasing Swiatek\u2019s shots all over the court, and also produced some stunning groundstroke winners while her rival was also undone by her own mistakes.<\/p>\n An intense baseline battle unfolded from the outset. Swiatek showed signs of nerves as she double-faulted, shanked a forehand wide and then missed a volley at the net, allowing Kostyuk to level at 5-5 in the opener. Swiatek hit two more double faults in the 12th game and the 15th-seeded Ukrainian player sealed the set with a backhand passing shot.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Swiatek then briefly left the court. Meanwhile, Kostyuk kept herself warm by stretching and hopping beside her chair, then received some applause as she did a few dance moves to the music playing in the stadium.<\/p>\n Following a first week marked by a suffocating heatwave, relief finally arrived in Paris on Sunday, with temperatures dropping to 21 degrees C (70 F) around midday. When play resumed, Swiatek broke but another double fault coupled with more unforced errors brought her opponent back at 1-1. Kostyuk then won the last five games.<\/p>\n Kostyuk, who had reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2021 when she lost to Swiatek, extended her winning streak on clay to 16 matches. Ahead of the French Open, she won in Madrid, the biggest title of her career, after she claimed another clay-court title in Rouen, France.<\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing that I\u2019ve been doing this whole time is really just trying to enjoy,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s helping. I want to keep enjoying. I try not to focus at all on winning or losing because I\u2019m not playing tennis to win, I\u2019m playing tennis because I love it.”<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 17 years later<\/p>\n Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea, who is planning to retire at the end of the season, beat Chinese qualifier Wang Xiyu 6-3, 7-6 (4) to reach her second Roland Garros quarterfinal, 17 years after first making it to the last eight.<\/p>\n The gap between Cirstea\u2019s first and second Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances in Paris is the longest at a single major by any woman in the Open Era.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no expiration date for ambition and for dreams,\u201d Cirstea said. \u201cI think back then I was a kid, just started on tour. Now I have so many years behind me. I have so much experience, maturity. I feel I\u2019m a completely different player.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf contributed to this report.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/a>
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