An emotional Marta Kostyuk described her first-round win at the French Open as one of the most difficult matches of her life as she revealed that she had taken to the court hours after a Russian missile landed close to her parents’ house in Ukraine.
According to The Guardian, Kostyuk, the 15th seed in Paris, became one of the first players to win a match at the tournament this year as the 23-year-old registered a 6-2, 6-3 win over Oksana Selekhmeteva. Kostyuk hails from Kyiv, where she periodically returns to train between tournaments.
Kostyuk struggled to hold back tears during her on-court interview.
She said, “I’m incredibly proud of myself today. I think it was one of the most difficult matches of my career. This morning, 100 metres away from my parents’ house [in Ukraine], a missile destroyed the building. It was a very difficult morning for me. I didn’t know how this match was going to turn around for me. I didn’t know how I would handle it.”
Kostyuk began her post-match press conference by showing a photo from her phone of the destruction close to her family home, where her mother, sister and great aunt live.
“This is what I received at 8:00 in the morning today. I had to live through it and deal with it and go out and play. I didn’t know what to expect from myself. I didn’t know how my focus is going to be, how I’m going to be able to control my emotions or my thoughts,” she added.
As per reports, four people were killed overnight in Kyiv and approximately 100 people were injured in Ukraine after Russian forces launched a significant wave of drone and missile strikes.
