Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk has revealed that her unwavering stance against Russia’s invasion of her homeland has profoundly sharpened her sense of purpose on the professional tour.
Despite facing a barrage of online criticism, she claims that the backlash only deepens her resolve to continue speaking out.
Kostyuk has emerged as one of the most vocal athletes regarding the conflict, which began in 2022. She has consistently called for greater recognition of the war, firmly rejecting the notion of neutrality and stressing that players must uphold their values even while competing.
Her recent impressive run to the French Open semi-finals this month saw her bring the same intensity to her media appearances as she did to her tennis, addressing a sensitive topic with a directness that has resonated far beyond the sporting world.
“Well, I think at this point it has strengthened my sense of purpose, because what I find fascinating is how many bots always attack my social media,” Kostyuk told Reuters ahead of Wimbledon.
“There’s nothing better than this because it means I touch important topics people don’t want to hear.
“Before, it used to be frustrating and difficult for me to endure even though I knew that the majority of it was bots, not real people. But now I’m really fuelling up with it, because I know these are the things I have to talk about.”
The world number 13 remains committed to highlighting the ongoing conflict.
“I hope the war isn’t going to last my whole career and… I’m going to raise other issues,” she stated. “At this moment in my life, war is one of the most important things that happens to me every day so I have to talk about it.”
Players from Russia and its ally Belarus have been permitted to compete as neutrals on the tour since the invasion, without national flags or official country representation. Kostyuk, however, challenges this perception.
“We’re talking about players who play without a flag, but they still represent their countries, everyone knows they’re Russians and Belarusians,” she explained. “I’m never saying these players, with what they’re going to say are going to stop the war, or they started the war with what they were saying. But the point is, what do you stand for in your life and what are your human values?”
Beyond her impactful off-court advocacy, Kostyuk expressed satisfaction with her progress during her Roland Garros campaign, which followed successful clay-court victories in Rouen and Madrid.
However, an off-court ankle injury has forced her to miss grass-court warm-up tournaments, leading to tempered expectations for Wimbledon, which begins on Monday.
“The biggest thing I’ve improved is my mental part, but not in the sense that I’ve become a different person. I feel like I just got more control over my thoughts, my state,” she reflected.
“I don’t spend too much extra energy on things I cannot control. This helps me to stay longer in these tournaments. I don’t get burnt out and don’t get tired a lot. This helps me obviously to keep the level higher.”
She concluded: “There are players who have made the semi-finals of Grand Slams but never made it further, or never reached another semi-final of a Grand Slam. So it’s really difficult to talk about how I think I’m going to play.
“I wish I would feel like, ‘oh yes, Wimbledon or the U.S. Open is mine’ or whatever, but I don’t think you feel this way ever. You go into every tournament playing match by match and see how it goes.”
