On June 4, Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk will hold the semi-finals of the iconic clay tournament Grand Slam – Roland Garros – against the representative of Russia Mirra Andreeva.
For the first time in her career, Kostyuk has reached this stage of the majors and is the first Ukrainian woman in the semi-finals of Roland Garros, on her way there is a fundamental opponent. It is clear that the slogan “sport outside of politics” does not work in real life, and the match for both athletes will be extremely important not only because of the opportunity to debut in the decisive match of the Slam.
Let’s try to estimate what chances both tennis players have to win the confrontation.
Marta Kostyuk, 23 years old, 15th ranked player in the world
The path of the Ukrainian woman to this year’s Roland Garros is described in detail in the announcements of the matches against Igi Shviontek and Elina Svitolinaso let’s talk about it very briefly.
Kostyuk is having the best season for herself, which was the result of solving certain psychological problems of the tennis player.
At the first tournament of the series season WTA 500 in Brisbane Martha with a beautiful game reached the finalhowever, further progress slowed down traumareceived on Australian Open. The full recovery from it was completed before the clay season, during which Kostiuk remains undefeated, having already won 17 matches in a row.
Kyivan became the champion competition WTA 500 in Rouen, after which triumphed at the “thousand” in Madrid, becoming the second Ukrainian tennis player in history to win a tournament of this category.
In Rome, Marta decided not to perform in order to save her strength before Roland Garros, besides, the athlete had a hip injury.
Kostyuk’s brilliant performances continued in Paris.
The first three opponents were not difficult, but only with Spanish ex-Russian Selehmetyeva managed to cope without problems. In the future and American Volynetsand Swiss Golubych against the Ukrainian, in fact, “matches of life” were issued, so Marta had to make efforts for success. Volynets even managed to take the first batch.
Despite the lack of crushing results in matches with far from the strongest “on paper” tennis players, the quality of Kostyuk’s game remained high. The main favorite of Roland Garros, Poland, felt it to the full Iga Shviontek in the 1/8 finals.
If in the first set the fight was even, then in the second our tennis player gave a “hidden bagel” to her formidable opponent for her birthday, that is, 6 consecutive games won during one game.
By a quirk of the draw, in the quarterfinals Kostyuk had to play against the number one player of Ukraine, Elina Svitolina. And the game turned out bright!
Thanks to her better start, Marta left the starting game behind. In the second set, Svitolina, who is very good at changing the style of play if the previous plan did not work, went on the attack and equalized the score. In the decisive game, after a series of mutual breaks, Kostiuk already demonstrated her multifaceted talent in all its glory, celebrating victory – 6:2.
Marta Kostyuk
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Marta already holds the record of Ukrainian tennis, having reached three tournament finals in one season WTA different categories (Brisbane – WTA 500, Rouen – WTA 250, Madrid – WTA 1000). There is one step left before the decisive match at the Slam.
After elimination in the quarterfinals in Paris, Sabalenka’s first racket of the world, it was Marta who became the main favorite at Roland Garros, not far ahead of her next opponent, Mirra Andreeva.
Mirra Andreeva, 19 years old, 8th racket of the world
Last season, as a 17-year-old, the Russian entered the elite of women’s tennis. Andreeva won two tournaments in a row WTA 1000 in Dubai and Indian Wells and jumped into the top 10 of the world ranking, where she is now.
For comparison, Kostyuk, who is almost 5 years older, has never been in the top ten, and will do so only if she wins over the Russian in Paris. Andreeva’s best achievement is the 5th step of the women’s report card on ranks.
The Russian woman, obviously, hoping for youth and health, holds many tournaments, while actually not getting eliminated in the first rounds. This season, she won two titles at the competition WTA 500: in January in Adelaide on hard and in April in Linz on clay.
In Paris, Andreeva’s tournament path turned out to be much easier than that of Kostyuk. This is explained, firstly, by the seeding number in the top-8, and secondly, by the sensational victory of our Yulia Starodubtseva over the second racket of the world, Kazakhstan Rybakina, in the second round. It was Yelena that Mirra could meet in the quarterfinals.
Under such conditions, Andreeva played with only two representatives of the top 30 world rankings. In the third round, she defeated Maria Buzkova (28), a completely different Czech, and in the quarterfinals she defeated a 36-year-old Romanian Soran Kirstya (18), about which the cliché about the second youth could be used, if she had serious achievements in the youth of the first.
The only set at the tournament in Andreeva was unexpectedly taken by the Spaniard Bassols, world number 175 in the second round, after which she managed to win a total of only two games in the next two games.
Mirra Andreeva
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It should be noted that the Russian refused to perform in pairs at Roland Garros, obviously betting on singles.
Andreeva’s main tennis virtues are a powerful serve with a high percentage of hitting the first ball and a shot from the left. Mirra’s backhand is rightly considered one of the best on Tour, and his down-the-line backhand is arguably the best overall.
But at the same time, the forehand of a tennis player usually does not carry any danger, which can be used as did Elina Svitolina in the 1/8 finals Australian Open-2026, tactically beating the Russian. It is very important to knock Andreeva out of her psychological balance with bright draws, then the young tennis player often starts to make claims to the whole world, losing the thread of the game.
Face-to-face meetings
Kostyuk and Andreeva met each other twice, and both times – in the current season. In January in Brisbane, Marta showed a more stable game in the back line, thanks to which won a well-deserved victory with the score 7:6(7), 6:3.
The second match is much more important, because it took place a month ago on clay in the final in Madrid. In the first game, Kostyuk had a serious advantage – 6:3, and in the second set, both athletes showed quality tennis. The Ukrainian won two set points of her opponent on her own serve and at a decisive moment acted more balanced – 7:5.
Review of the match between Kostyuk and Andreeva in Madrid
It is important to note that now Kostyuk is trying to play from a position of strength, building the game based on his skills, and not adapting to the strengths and weaknesses of his opponents. In the decisive match in the capital of Spain and already in Paris against Šviontek and Svitolina, it was obvious.
Prediction of bookmakers
Unlike the Madrid final, this time the bookmakers see Kostyuk as a slight favorite in the meeting. You can bet on the victory of the Ukrainian with a coefficient of 1.72, on her opponent – at 2.10.
The youth of both tennis players plus the political basis of the meeting make it possible to confidently say that the athlete who can better cope with nerves will win. Kostyuk is now playing a very high-quality game, but the psychological problems of youth cannot disappear without a trace in half a year.
At the age of 19, Andreeva played more matches in the decisive stages of the competition, including the semi-finals two years ago at Roland Garros. She knows how to deal with excitement.
If we take purely tennis skills, then Kostyuk has a serious advantage here. Her excellent footwork and the variety of her game are ideal for clay courts, although Marta’s best achievement at Roland Garros so far this season has been the round of 16 stage.
However, the psychological aspect will be decisive. If Kostiuk is as calm and confident as in the two previous meetings with Shviontek and Svitolina, she will be able to reach the final. None of the Ukrainian tennis players has yet managed to reach the decisive match of the Grand Slam tournaments. Marta has a real chance to become a pioneer.
Where to watch the match between Kostyuk and Andreeva
The semi-final match of Roland Garros will take place on June 4 at approximately 16:00 Kyiv time on the Philippe-Chatrier central court. In Ukraine, the broadcast of the match with Ukrainian commentary will be available on the MEGOGO platform, as well as through other official broadcasters of Eurosport channels.
