Tearful Kostyuk creates Ukrainian tennis history amid tragedy in home country

A tearful Marta Kostyuk has made history as the first Ukrainian woman to reach the Roland-Garros singles semi-finals, outlasting countrywoman Elina Svitolina in three sets to remain perfect on clay this year.

The No.15 seed, who captured the Rouen and Madrid titles to arrive in Paris as one of the tour’s most in-form players, upset four-time champion Iga Swiatek in the previous round then bounced back from losing the middle set to Svitolina to win 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

But there is so much more to any Ukrainian player’s success.

Kostyuk’s career-best triumph followed a tragic night in her home country, where Russia’s targeted bombing in various Ukrainian cities resulted in at least 10 deaths as the devastation of the ongoing war continued.

Only last week, the 23-year-old broke down in tears after her first-round win, revealing a Russian missile strike destroyed a building frightfully close to her family’s home in Kyiv.

“If it had been 100 metres closer, I probably wouldn’t have a mother and a sister,” Kostyuk said at the time.

Kostyuk shone a light once more on the destruction in Ukraine after moving into the semi-finals in Paris, where she will face 19-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva, who thrashed Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea, 6-0, 6-3.

“We had a very difficult night again in Ukraine, especially in Kyiv, and I want to give this match to the Ukrainian people and their resilience,” Kostyuk said on court.

Kostyuk has consistently lauded fellow Ukrainian Oleksandra Oliynykova for being outspoken about Russian and Belarusian players’ relative silence amid the war in Ukraine, while admitting she no longer had the emotional energy to do the same herself.

“I saw [the bombing] started last night already in the evening, but I never follow news during the night. I mean, I will change absolutely nothing, and I will just not get any sleep,” she said.

“If I cannot live without news and not follow them, then I might as well go back to Ukraine and live there because I’m here, I’m safe, I’m here to do my job. I obviously try to separate these things.

“Of course, when I woke up today, I saw it was all over the news. I texted my family if they were OK. This is pretty much all I can do. The biggest thing I can do is sit here and talk about it, so more people can find out about it, so they don’t get used to this terrible life.”

Svitolina, who is married to retirement-bound French star Gael Monfils, started her Roland-Garros campaign in similarly brilliant form, but quickly fell 4-1 behind Kostyuk in an error-strewn start.

That tardy opening came back to haunt her b