Marta Kostyuk sends former champion Iga Swiatek packing in French Open last 16

PARIS – Iga Swiatek’s 25th birthday celebrations turned sour at the French Open on May 31 as the four-time Roland Garros champion lost 7-5, 6-1 to Ukrainian 15th-seed Marta Kostyuk just when she had looked to be rediscovering her form.

The Polish star’s shock defeat comes amid a chaotic spell at Roland Garros where men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic and defending women’s champion Coco Gauff all went out in a three-day span.

It leaves world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka as favourite to claim her first title in Paris, though Kostyuk will be one to watch as she builds the momentum that has helped her sparkle on clay this season.

“I’m still in shock,” the 23-year-old said in an on-court interview.

“I feel like I’ve given myself more space to just create something, to challenge my opponents. I woke up in the morning and all I thought was, ‘What an unbelievable day I have to live today... there’s nothing I could do other than this’.

“I try not to focus at all on winning and losing, because I’m not playing tennis to win. I’m playing tennis because I love it. I want to connect to people, I want to feel this energy... make people happy and unite people.”

There was little to separate the duo in the early exchanges as they twice traded breaks.

Kostyuk came up with a tight hold in the 11th game and raised her level at the end to claim the opening set with a backhand cross-court winner.

It was the first time that Kostyuk had taken a set off the third-seeded Pole after three straight defeats in their previous meetings and she sensed a big upset when she went ahead 3-1 in the next set after a battling effort.

The Rouen and Madrid champion held her nerve from there to take her record on clay this season to 16-0 and book a meeting with seventh-seeded compatriot Elina Svitolina.

Meanwhile, Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea beat China’s Wang Xiyu 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to advance to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for just the third time in her career.

Her previous Roland Garros last-eight appearance was 17 years ago in 2019.

The 36-year-old is retiring at the end of the season but is in the form of her life after she became the oldest player to break into the top 20 in May.

Earlier on May 30, Gauff lost in three sets to Austrian Anastasia Potapova to end her title defence.

The two-time Grand Slam winner was defeated in the third round 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 by the 28th seed after being a break up in the deciding set.

Gauff insisted afterwards that being the defending champion had not affected her play, unlike in 2024 when she went into the US Open as the title-holder.

“I think at the US Open it did a lot more but honestly this time it didn’t. I wasn’t really nervous,” the fourth seed told reporters.

“That’s what’s more frustrating because I felt like I learnt a lot from that US Open experience and I’m a better player since then and I just don’t think I portrayed that today.”

Potapova said the secret to victory for her was ignoring the score.

“I kept on saying to myself that I don’t need to focus on the scoreboard, just focus on every point,” the 25-year-old said.

“If you manage to do that, then maybe I will get my chances to win. So, yeah, the key was just stay in the moment no matter what is going on and try your best.”

Potapova will meet Russian 22nd-seed Anna Kalinskaya for a spot in the quarter-finals.
REUTERS, AFP