Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk reaches Wimbledon semi and denounces IOC's Russia decision

Marta Kostyuk, the 24‑year‑old Ukrainian, advanced to her first Wimbledon final by defeating Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6‑3, 6‑2, securing a place in the semi‑final against Czech ninth seed Linda Noskova. She became the second Ukrainian woman to reach a Wimbledon semi‑final after Elina Svitolina.

During her post‑match press conference Kostyuk criticised the International Olympic Committee’s provisional lifting of the Russian Olympic Committee’s suspension, calling the move “terrible” and “far from fair play for all the countries involved”. She said she “100 % disagrees” and vowed to “beat every single Russian I play in the Olympics”.

Kostyuk also described how recent Russian missile strikes on Kyiv, which damaged residential buildings near her parents’ home, have made it hard to focus on tennis. She said, “It’s not easy to disconnect entirely… another difficult night and a lot of dead people, innocent children.”