Marta Kostyuk reached the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros for the first time in her career Sunday, defeating four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 on Swiatek's 25th birthday.
The 15th-seeded Ukrainian had lost all three of her previous matches against Swiatek and had never won a set against the former world No. 1. According to ABC News, the win extends Kostyuk's clay-court winning streak to 16 matches this season.
Kostyuk arrived at Roland-Garros with significant momentum. She won in Madrid before the tournament, which she described as the biggest title of her career, and also claimed a clay-court title in Rouen, France earlier this spring.
The match opened with an intense baseline battle. Swiatek earned the first break after a long rally, but Kostyuk broke back immediately. Swiatek moved ahead 5-4 before nerves appeared to set in. She double-faulted, shanked a forehand wide, and missed a volley at the net, allowing Kostyuk to level at 5-5. Two more double faults in the 12th game let Kostyuk close out the first set with a backhand passing shot.
When play resumed after a brief break, Kostyuk won five consecutive games to finish the match. Swiatek was undone by a combination of unforced errors and Kostyuk's steady defensive play.
"I'm still in shock. To beat such an unbelievable player, who won four times here," Kostyuk said after the match.
The result means there will be a first-time women's champion at Roland-Garros this year. None of the players remaining in the draw have previously won the title in Paris. Coco Gauff was eliminated Saturday, and Swiatek's exit Sunday removed the last former champion. The men's draw presents a similar situation following the defeats of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic and the absence of Carlos Alcaraz due to injury.
Kostyuk reached the fourth round at Roland-Garros in 2021 before losing to Swiatek. Sunday's win puts her one step further than she has ever gone at the tournament.
"The most important thing that I've been doing this whole time is really just trying to enjoy," she said. "It's helping. I want to keep enjoying. I try not to focus at all on winning or losing because I'm not playing tennis to win, I'm playing tennis because I love it."
