Kostyuk Makes History in National Derby: Beat Svitolina in 3 Sets

On Tuesday afternoon at Court Philippe-Chatrier, a historic moment for Ukrainian tennis was experienced. 15th seed Marta Kostyuk defeated 7th seed Elina Svitolina, the experienced star of Ukraine 8 years older than her, with 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. After the 1-hour 49-minute match, 23-year-old Kostyuk advanced to her career's first Grand Slam semi-final, becoming the first Ukrainian woman to play in a Roland Garros semi-final in the Open Era (1968). This carried meaning beyond the court for a country experiencing war — both players did not hide their tears.

Although the first set started balanced, Svitolina could not solve Kostyuk's aggressive baseline play. Kostyuk placed her forehand winners like works of art and became the owner of the 6-3 set. In the second set, Svitolina's experience came into play — the Ukrainian veteran won a 6-2 set by making fewer errors. The match was equalised, dramatic conclusion was expected. In the third set, Kostyuk found her rhythm again; with aggressive winners, deep ball usage and waiting patiently for her opponent's fatigue in long rallies. The 6-2 third set ended with an ace in the last game — Kostyuk closed the match in 1 hour 49 minutes.

In the anatomy of the match, Kostyuk's serve dominance was decisive. The 23-year-old Ukrainian hit 4 aces; Svitolina zero. There was equality in double faults (3-3). But in first serve accuracy, Kostyuk passed Svitolina's 56% (40/71) clearly with 65% (57/88). On her first serve, Kostyuk took 70% of points; Svitolina stayed at 60%. This was a picture exemplifying the serve game at the highest tempo of modern WTA. But the picture reversed on the second serve: Svitolina 42%, Kostyuk only 32%. This showed that the second serve was a saviour for Svitolina at one point in the match — which also explains the second set.

Looking at the rally analysis, it is seen that Kostyuk surpassed Svitolina in total points: 84-75 in favour of Kostyuk (+9). In 1-4 stroke rallies Kostyuk 36, Svitolina 31 (+5 Kostyuk); in 5-8 stroke rallies 31-26 (+5 Kostyuk); in 9+ stroke long rallies, however, Svitolina is slightly ahead 18-16 (+2 Svitolina). That is, Svitolina's classic weapon of long rally battle worked to some extent, but Kostyuk's superiority in short and medium-range shots took the match. Svitolina hit 23 winners (0 ace) in total — meaning she put up a defence-oriented match but it was not enough.

At the end of the match, both players hugged in tears. While Kostyuk said "I played for Ukraine, for everyone in my country" in an emotional on-court interview, Svitolina's words "Ukraine won, I'm happy" received applause from the stands. For two players who were a Ukrainian symbol from the beginning of the match, this was actually a sibling matchup rather than an opponent on the court. Before, no Ukrainian woman had reached the Roland Garros semi-final in the Open Era — one needs to understand how big a milestone this is for Marta Kostyuk. Moreover, at 23.

Kostyuk's 2026 season is extraordinary. It started with the Madrid Open 2026 championship (her career's 3rd WTA title); she was on a winning streak of 15+ consecutive matches on clay when entering Roland Garros. She had signed the biggest surprise of the tournament by defeating 4-time RG champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 in R4 at Roland Garros. When entering Monday before the quarter-final with 16 match wins on clay, the Svitolina victory raised the streak to 17. The 23-year-old Ukrainian, who entered this season as world No. 15, has a serious walk towards the Top 10. She may also have a say at Wimbledon, US Open and end-of-season Finals in the coming weeks.

Looking from the Svitolina side, the story was bittersweet. The 31-year-old Ukrainian veteran had been eliminated in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros five times — this was the sixth time and again she was eliminated. She had the Rome Championship at the start of the 2026 season, a 10-match winning streak on clay had come. Her return to tennis after becoming a mother at the end of 2022 was successful; a legend with 20 WTA titles and a 440-232 career record. But the Roland Garros quarter-final threshold has turned into a "curse" for her. Maybe next year, maybe a new story at Wimbledon.

Since Andreeva won her quarter-final on the same day in 56 minutes, the Kostyuk-Andreeva matchup will take place in the semi-final. This shows that Kostyuk, on a 17-match winning streak on clay, and Andreeva, who has a 79% win rate at Roland Garros, will be an extraordinary match. The winner of the Sabalenka-Shnaider matchup will be in the other semi-final. The final's prediction: Sabalenka or Andreeva vs Kostyuk — even the first Grand Slam final in the history of Ukrainian tennis may be in question.

Image: lequipe.fr