Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk has advanced to her first Wimbledon semifinal after defeating Italy’s Jasmine Paolini with a score of 6-3, 6-2.
The 24-year-old athlete is competing while her hometown of Kyiv, where her parents reside, faces ongoing attacks from Russia. Kostyuk expressed the difficulty of remaining detached from the situation back home, stating, “It’s tough” to hear the news of the conflict, and noted, “It’s not easy to disconnect entirely.”
As Kostyuk played on Wimbledon’s Centre Court on Wednesday, her fellow citizens in Ukraine were grappling with another assault by Russian forces on Kyiv. This has been a recurring theme during her journey to the semifinals. Just days prior, after Russian missiles targeted residential areas near her parents’ home, she managed to focus on her fourth-round match.
Last week, the Ukrainian capital endured an extensive drone and missile strike, resulting in the deaths of at least 25 individuals. For Kostyuk, each day involves the challenge of concentrating on her tennis career while remaining conscious of the turmoil in her homeland. “It was really tough for me last week when the first big attack happened,” she recounted. “Then on Monday, they damaged four streets of residential buildings just five kilometers from where my parents live. It’s been another difficult night with many casualties, including innocent people and children. It’s not easy. I try to stay informed about everything that’s happening.”
The 12th-seeded Kostyuk is competing in her second consecutive grand slam semifinal, having previously lost to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva in the French Open’s last four. The two players did not shake hands before that match, which has become customary among Russian and Ukrainian competitors since the onset of the war in 2022. Russian athletes have been competing as neutrals on both the men’s and women’s tennis tours during this period.
However, on Tuesday, the International Olympic Committee provisionally lifted its ban on Russian athletes, advising individual sports to reconsider the neutral status. The Kremlin welcomed this decision as a significant move towards restoring Russian athletes’ rights, but Kostyuk expressed her disapproval. “My thoughts are that it’s terrible,” she stated. “I think it’s very, very far from fair play for all the countries involved here, not just for Ukraine. I completely disagree with this decision. I just want to go out there and hopefully defeat every single Russian opponent I face in the Olympics.”
Currently, there are no Russian singles players remaining in the Wimbledon tournament. Kostyuk’s next match will be against Linda Noskova from the Czech Republic on Thursday, while the other semifinal features American Coco Gauff competing against another Czech player, Karolina Muchova.
Kostyuk is only the second Ukrainian woman to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, following Elina Svitolina, who achieved this feat in both 2019 and 2023 but lost on both occasions. Reflecting on the significance of potentially becoming the first Ukrainian finalist, Kostyuk remarked, “I’m hoping it would mean a lot.”
