A tearful Marta Kostyuk dedicated her French Open quarter-final against compatriot Elina Svitolina to Ukraine after she made history to reach the last four in Paris.
The 23-year-old outlasted seventh seed Svitolina – who she earlier described as “a legend of Ukrainian tennis” – in a deciding set in the first major quarter-final between two Ukrainian women in history.
Kostyuk is the first Ukrainian woman in the Open era to reach the singles semi-finals at Roland Garros – and she achieved the feat with the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine never far from her mind.
Kostyuk and Svitolina took to court the day after a missile and drone attack killed at least 18 people across Ukraine.
Speaking on court following her 6-3 2-6 6-2 win, Kostyuk said: “We had another difficult night in Ukraine, especially in Kyiv where so many people died, so I want to give this match to Ukraine.”
Kostyuk teared up as she was given a lengthy ovation by the crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, with interviewer Marion Bartoli stepping in to hug her.
She also paid tribute to four-time major semi-finalist Svitolina, saying: “I want to point out Elina’s incredible impact on tennis, Ukrainians and me. She is incredible.”
The first Ukrainian singles player to reach the last four at the French Open since Andrei Medvedev in 1999, Kostyuk will face Russian Mirra Andreeva for a place in Saturday’s final.
Kostyuk joins Svitolina and Dayana Yastremska as only the third Ukrainian woman to reach the semi-finals at one of the sport’s biggest tournaments.
She has achieved that despite the long-lasting impact of a war that has left her fearing for the safety of her family and friends since February 2022.
She began this French Open with a gritty victory in what she called “one of the most difficult matches” of her life, later showing journalists a photograph of a building on fire just 100 metres from her family home after Russian missiles struck Kyiv.