Iga Swiatek surprised by Marta Kostyuk to create a new French Open champion

PARIS — A New Chapter at Roland Garros

This year’s Roland Garros is set to crown its first female champion, and many are suggesting that Marta Kostyuk could be the one to take the title.

Seeded 15th, the Ukrainian has remained undefeated on clay this season, and on Sunday she marked a significant victory by defeating four-time champion Iga Swiatek with a score of 7-5, 6-1—a win that, perhaps, somewhat spoiled Swiatek’s birthday.

Interestingly, none of the players still in the tournament have previously won a trophy in Paris. This includes Coco Gauff, who lost on Saturday, and in the men’s draw, both Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic faced defeat, while Carlos Alcaraz was sidelined due to injury.

Kostyuk’s recent history with Swiatek hasn’t been great; she had lost her last three matches against her, and notably, she hadn’t even won a set against the former top-ranked player, who turned 25 just yesterday.

“I’m still in shock. To win here against an unbelievable player who has won four times,” she reflected after her win.

Regarded as the standout player of the clay court season, Kostyuk successfully chased down Swiatek’s shots throughout the match, defending well and showcasing impressive groundstrokes, while Swiatek struggled with uncharacteristic mistakes.

The clash began intensely, with Swiatek initially overpowering Kostyuk to gain the first break. Kostyuk responded quickly by breaking back, but then dropped serve again, allowing Swiatek a 5-4 advantage.

However, Swiatek’s nervousness crept in—she double-faulted and missed key shots, which enabled Kostyuk to even the score at 5-5. In a dramatic twist, Swiatek committed further double faults in the 12th game, allowing Kostyuk to take the set with a blistering backhand.

After briefly leaving the court, Swiatek returned, while Kostyuk stayed energized, stretching and even dancing to the music, earning cheers from the crowd.

Following a week of oppressive heat, Paris thankfully cooled down to a more comfortable 21°C (70°F) by midday on Sunday.

Upon resuming play, Swiatek initially broke Kostyuk’s serve but fell victim to further mistakes, allowing Kostyuk to pull ahead and ultimately win the match by taking the last five games.

Kostyuk, who previously made it to the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2021 only to lose to Swiatek, is riding a wave of success with a current clay winning streak of 16 matches. Before this tournament, she claimed titles in Rouen, France, and in Madrid—the latter being the biggest win of her career.

“The most important thing I’ve ever done is just try to have fun,” she shared. “It’s helping me. I want to keep having fun. I try not to focus on winning or losing at all because I don’t play tennis to win. I play tennis because I love it.”