Kostyuk dedicates French Open win to Ukraine after Kyiv attack

Marta Kostyuk turned a first-round French Open win into a stark reminder of what Ukrainian athletes carry onto the court. The Kyiv native beat Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-2, 6-3 at Roland Garros on Sunday, but the match was framed by a Russian missile strike that destroyed a building about 100 meters from her parents’ home in Kyiv that same morning.

Kostyuk was tearful before she went on court at Court Simonne-Mathieu in Paris, and the emotional weight of the day never left the match. She later said she was proud of how she stayed focused despite the war in Ukraine hitting closer to her family. For Kostyuk, the victory was not just a passage into the second round. It was an act of composure in the middle of another day of violence back home.

The strike on Kyiv killed at least four people and injured dozens, deepening the sense that every public appearance by a Ukrainian player now carries more than sporting significance. Kostyuk described the contest as one of the most difficult matches of her career, not because of the opponent alone, but because of what unfolded in Kyiv while she prepared to play in Paris. Selekhmeteva, who has been described in some reports as Russian-born and now representing Spain, was overcome in straight sets as Kostyuk controlled the opening round.

The result also extended Kostyuk’s strong clay-court form in 2026, coming shortly after her Madrid Open title earlier in the month. That run has lifted her profile as one of the leading figures in Ukrainian women’s tennis, where every result has come to reflect not only individual form but national resilience. Her next opponent was set to be either American Katie Volynets or France’s Clara Burel, with Kostyuk carrying both momentum and the burden of events in Kyiv into the next round.