For Marta Kostyuk, in addition to the French Open, the war in Ukraine is a daily reality. She cannot understand why Russian women like her opponent Mirra Andreeva do not distance themselves.
For Marta Kostyuk, the semi-finals of the French Open on Thursday will be the biggest match of her career. But she can’t really enjoy it. The impressions from her Ukrainian homeland, where Russian bombs continue to fall every day, are too severe. And she also associates her next opponent too closely with Russia’s war of aggression, which has been going on for four years now and has already cost countless lives.
Kostyuk has learned to play against Andreeva and co
Kostyuk is fighting against Mirra Andreeva for a place in the first Grand Slam final of her career. The Ukrainian celebrated her greatest success to date against the 19-year-old from Krasnoyarsk in southern Russia in the final of the Masters in Madrid at the beginning of May. But that doesn’t change the fact that matches against Andreeva and other compatriots are unpleasant for her – but Kostyuk has learned to deal with it.
“If I couldn’t do that, I wouldn’t have been able to beat them. I’ve gotten a lot better at it,” said the 23-year-old after her victory in the quarter-finals against her compatriot Elina Svitolina: “Actually, I always don’t care who is on the other side. I’m there to play tennis and do my job – that’s no different on Thursday.”
Kostyuk criticizes the lack of positioning against the war
As much as Kostyuk ignores who is opposite her on the court, it is a big issue away from the rally. Especially since Andreeva is one of the players who has not taken a clear position against the Russian war of aggression in four years and does not want to talk about it. “For me it’s no longer frustrating, they are all adults and know what they are saying. But they also know what is happening, they all have phones and Instagram, they are aware of the situation”said Kostyuk.
The Ukrainian continued: “If they avoid talking about it, they have to live with it, not me. But I would like there to be more clear positions, especially when a country is killing other people. I don’t know how you can sleep peacefully when you know what’s happening and you have nothing to say about it.”
Kasatkina turned away, Andreeva didn’t
This makes her all the more positive about her colleagues on the tour who are distancing themselves from Russia and its allies. An example of this is Daria Kasatkina, who has started for Australia since March 2025 and no longer for Kazakhstan. “If you don’t agree, you can do something and stop living there, she’s a great example. I know people came to her parents and scared them after she spoke publicly. But that didn’t stop her from changing citizenship.”said Kostyuk.
you some people, “who left Russia when the war started, who gave up their businesses and left everything behind because they didn’t agree with it”. The fact that others like Andreeva have not drawn any conclusions makes Kostyuk shake his head. It is clear to them that Russians, Kazakhs and Belarusians who support Russia are more to them than opponents on the pitch.
“If you don’t agree with it, you can do something and stop living there. There’s nothing that can stop you if it’s something you don’t believe in”said Kostyuk: “In four years, I think they have made it very clear which side they are on. They have to live with this burden.”