Kostyuk dedicates French Open victory to Ukraine following missile strike near family home
The 23-year-old Ukrainian player overcame significant emotional distress to defeat Oksana Selekhmeteva in the first round, after a Russian attack landed 100 metres from her relatives in Kyiv.
Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk has dedicated her French Open first-round victory to her homeland following a Russian missile strike that narrowly missed her family’s home in Kyiv. The 23-year-old, seeded 15th, defeated Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday, describing the contest as one of the most difficult of her career due to the proximity of the attack to her relatives.
Kostyuk revealed that the explosion occurred approximately 100 metres from where her mother, sister, and great-aunt were sleeping at the time of the overnight strikes. She confirmed that none of her family or close friends were injured, but admitted to feeling physically sick during the morning due to fear that the missile had landed closer to her home. The 15th seed stated that the morning was one of the "top three worst days" since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
During her post-match news conference, Kostyuk showed journalists a photograph of a burning building to illustrate the danger. She explained that she did not consider withdrawing from the match because her family was safe, but acknowledged the difficulty of maintaining focus while managing intense emotional distress. "Most of the morning I felt sick because I thought if it was 100m closer, I probably wouldn't have a mum and a sister today," she said.
The match was further defined by Kostyuk’s adherence to a long-standing policy among Ukrainian players not to acknowledge opponents from Russia or its ally Belarus. Selekhmeteva, who is Russian-born, played under the Spanish flag after switching allegiance earlier in the week. Kostyuk declined to shake hands with her opponent, a decision that drew cheers from the crowd during her on-court interview.
Kostyuk, who has won all 12 of her clay-court matches this year including the Madrid Open title, will face American player Katie Volynets in the next round. Volynets advanced after defeating France’s Clara Burel 6-3, 6-1. Kostyuk noted that while there are better and worse days, the current situation remains one of the most emotional challenges she has faced since the conflict began.
