Marta makes history for Ukraine
With so much at stake when Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina met in an all-Ukrainian quarterfinal on Tuesday, it was always going to be a significant and emotional occasion.
So it proved as Kostyuk produced a stunning final passage of play to pull away from her friend and compatriot to win 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 to move into her first Grand Slam semifinal.
The 23-year-old extends her win streak to an astonishing 17 matches to become the first Ukrainian women’s semifinalist in Paris in the Open era.
“I want to give this match to Ukrainian people and to their resilience,” said Kostyuk who fought back tears during her on-court interview.
Kostyuk will be back on Thursday to face 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva who knows all about Roland-Garros semifinals.
The No.8 seed returned to the last four here for the second time in three years when she outplayed the soon-retiring Sorana Cirstea 6-0, 6-3 in the first match on the main show court.
In the men’s draw, another player familiar with semifinals day in Paris is Alexander Zverev. The German can start preparing for his fifth visit to the RG last four after proving too strong for new kid on the block Rafael Jodar.
Things were looking good for the young Spaniard when he jumped into a 5-2 first set lead but once Zverev had snatched the opener on a tiebreak he cruised to a 7-6(3), 6-1, 6-3 scoreline.
The night session was about the next generation as 19-year-old Joao Fonseca and 20-year-old Jakub Mensik battled for a first major semifinal spot and it was the calmer Czech who overall played a more consistent match.
It looked as though the Brazilian Fonseca might extend the contest when he had set point serving at 5-4 in the third set, but Mensik stood firm and finally finished the job on his seventh match point 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(3).
The Roland-Garros wheelchair singles events began on Tuesday and one of the biggest stars in the sport Tokito Oda had a good day on the clay with a first round win.
Afterwards the 20-year-old Japanese world No.1 explained to Alex Sharp why he’s so focused on winning his fourth successive men’s title in Paris and told him he also has his eye on a calendar slam in 2026.
The juniors were back out dodging the rain showers and one of those, Californian 18-year-old Keaton Hance, navigated his way into the third round.
The teenager told Chris Oddo afterwards that he had spent his youth practising with fellow American star and childhood friend Iva Jovic.
“I grew up hitting with Iva because there weren’t many kids that were actually taking tennis very seriously around our neighbourhood," he said.
Wednesday’s tennis features the last four singles quarterfinals with world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka hoping to take another step towards a first Roland-Garros title.
During the RG Legends media hour on Monday, Dan Imhoff talked to former world No.1s Lindsay Davenport and Angelique Kerber about Sabalenka's evolution as a player.
And the men’s matches include the return of marathon man Matteo Arnaldi, who has spent a mind-boggling 17 hours and 42 minutes on court so far in Paris. This was one of the many statistical nuggets unearthed by Chris Oddo after the conclusion of the fourth round.
And ahead of Wednesday’s action Alix Ramsay has been hard at work crafting previews for all four matches on the Chatrier schedule.
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
