Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk fought back tears as she disclosed that a Russian missile narrowly missed her parents' home just hours before her opening match at the French Open. Russia launched a fresh wave of attacks on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, overnight, resulting in four fatalities and nearly 100 injuries.
Emotional Victory
Kostyuk, who refused to shake hands with her Russian opponent Oksana Selekhmeteva—who recently switched allegiance to Spain—secured a 6-2, 6-3 victory on Court Simone Mathieu. 'I'm incredibly proud of myself,' said an emotional Kostyuk. 'I think it was one of the most difficult matches of my career. This morning, 100 meters from my parent's house, the missile destroyed the building. It was a very difficult morning.'
'I didn't know how this match was going to turn out for me. I didn't know how I would handle it. I've been crying part of the morning. I don't want to talk about myself today.' She added, 'If it was 100m closer, I probably wouldn't have a mum and sister today.'
Heartfelt Message
'I'm very pleased to be in the second round, but all of my thoughts and all my heart goes to the people of Ukraine today. Thank you so much for coming out. Slava Ukraine,' Kostyuk said, addressing the crowd.
Kostyuk, ranked world number 15 and recently crowned Madrid Open champion, has consistently refused to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian players since the war began. Three years ago, she was booed off court at Roland Garros after ignoring Aryna Sabalenka following a first-round defeat to the current world number one.
After beating Selekhmeteva, Kostyuk went straight to shake hands with the umpire, then sat on her bench, burying her face in a towel before addressing the spectators.
Inspiration from Ukrainians
'I think it's important to keep going,' she said. 'My biggest example is Ukrainian people. I woke up and looked at all these people who woke up and kept living their lives, kept helping people who are in need.'
'I knew a lot of Ukrainian flags would be here today and a lot of Ukrainian people would come out and support. My friends from Ukraine came as well. I am very happy to have them here. There is not much I can say,' she concluded.
