Madrid, WTA Finals, Ukraine: Everything you always wanted to know about Marta Kostyuk (but never had time to find out)
Marta Kostyuk won her first WTA 1000 title in Madrid and reached the semi-finals at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon in 2026, and replaces Elena Rybakina at the WTA Finals. Here are the answers to the questions most often asked about the Ukrainian.
Marta Kostyk, US Open 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
Who is Marta Kostyuk?
Marta Kostyuk is a Ukrainian tennis player who had the best season of her career in 2026. She won her first WTA 1000 title in Madrid and reached her first two Grand Slam semi-finals, at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon.
The first alternate for the WTA Finals in Indian Wells, she replaced world No. 1 Elena Rybakina, who withdrew with a medical issue on the eve of the tournament. She opens against Linda Noskova, who beat her twice this summer.
How did Marta Kostyuk win Madrid?
She arrived in Madrid as the 26th seed, two weeks after winning the title in Rouen. She beat Noskova 7-6 (1), 6-0 in the quarter-finals and Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 1-6, 6-1 in the semi-finals.
In the final, she beat ninth seed Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5, celebrated with a backflip and rose to No. 15 in the world. She had not lost a match on clay all season.
“It was almost like a curse,” she said afterwards of the weight of having been a teenage prodigy.
What did Marta Kostyuk do at Roland-Garros 2026?
She reached her first Grand Slam semi-final, the first Ukrainian woman to get that far in Paris. Hours after a missile destroyed a building 100 metres from her parents’ home in Kyiv, she won her first-round match and dedicated it to Ukraine.
In the round of 16, she beat four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1, her first win in four meetings with the Pole. She then beat Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in the first all-Ukrainian quarter-final at Roland-Garros.
Andreeva ended her 16-match clay-court streak 6-1, 6-3 in the semi-finals.
What did Marta Kostyuk do at Wimbledon 2026?
As the 12th seed, she reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final, completing a set of quarter-finals at all four majors, then beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals.
Noskova, the eventual champion, beat her in the semi-finals. At the US Open, the Czech beat her again, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, in the round of 16, the only major where Kostyuk has never reached the quarter-finals.
Who is Marta Kostyuk’s coach?
Sandra Zaniewska, a former player who reached No. 142, has coached her since the end of 2023. “You create the best humans,” she told Tennis Majors, explaining her refusal to change the Ukrainian’s character.
Kostyuk was previously coached by her mother, Talina Beiko, a former player. “Results are just a side effect,” Zaniewska said at Roland-Garros.
Why doesn’t Marta Kostyuk shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players?
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kostyuk has refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players. After losing the Brisbane final to Aryna Sabalenka in January 2026, she described during the ceremony what her family was going through in Ukraine.
At Roland-Garros, she challenged the silence of Russian players on the war: “I don’t know how you can sleep peacefully.” At Wimbledon, she criticised the IOC’s decision to lift its ban on Russia: “I want to beat every Russian I play in Olympics.”
How old is Marta Kostyuk and where is she from?
Marta Kostyuk was born on June 28, 2002, in Kyiv, Ukraine, which makes her 24. She was a junior prodigy, and reached the third round of the Australian Open at 15.
She has spoken openly about therapy and the inner battles she has fought since the start of the war. “A Grand Slam is nothing compared to that,” she said at Roland-Garros. Her current ranking is on her WTA profile.
