ROLAND GARROS

May 27, 2026

Marta Kostyuk

Press Conference

M. KOSTYUK/K. Volynets

6-7, 6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Marta, really tough match out there today. What were you most pleased about when you got through that match?

MARTA KOSTYUK: I think I'm most pleased that I didn't cramp to death or didn't pass out during this match. But overall, yeah, it was not easy, not easy for everyone. But happy with the win, for sure.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. Congrats on the win. Yeah, you just mentioned the conditions. Can you talk a little bit about, yeah, how hot it is out there today and how it compares to other tournaments you have played here in particular? Because the conditions completely change on the court too.

MARTA KOSTYUK: I was thinking about it, and I don't think -- it's still not even close to the conditions I played in during Olympics here. This was one of the worst matches I experienced in my life. It was, like, 37 or 38 and very humid, and I beat Sakkari that day. Also, it was super-long match. Yeah, it was much worse than this.

You know, I think it didn't help me today that I played first match first, because it was way, way cooler. But, yeah, it was not easy. I needed to adapt. I needed time. Was very unlucky on set points in the first set. I think if I won that first set, it would have ended in two. I mean, I'm hoping it would be like this.

Yeah, that didn't help. But I still think it was really good match. I think she played very good today.

For me, the biggest issue was first set, because I just needed to get used to this heat and to these conditions, which wasn't easy. And she played good. You know, I needed to change things that I was doing, and that's it.

Yeah, it was, yeah, I mean, it's still hot and it's very dry. I always felt like I need to drink, I want to drink more and more. Yeah, it was tough.

Q. Do you read Sandra's blog ever? You probably don't need to because you're with her so much.

MARTA KOSTYUK: I am the first one to read it. I read it before it's published, by the way. Yeah, she always asks me. I give her my feedback.

I mean, I'm very happy she shares it with me before sharing it with everyone else. I think she's doing very, very good job, and she's very good at this too. I hope people will recognize it more than they do.

Q. I read the last one. I thought it was really cool after Madrid. There was a couple cool points. She talked about a level that appears and a level that stays. That's probably on your mind right now. It clearly has been staying through these last 13 matches. Can you comment a little bit on the differences between those and how you think about those?

MARTA KOSTYUK: Yeah, I mean, I think I will also quote what she said that there is not one magical thing that changes or happens and then suddenly you're, like, a different player.

I think we have worked really well for a long time. Some things were just not aligning. Some things wasn't enough. But overall, I think I was consistent with my work, was consistent on good days, on bad days.

Yeah, I mean, if I knew better answer, I would, you know, I would say it. Yeah, I don't think there is, like, one thing that changed or even two. I think tennis is a very complex sport for me.

It cannot be, like, you know, one thing can change everything, you know, but also one thing can ruin everything, because it's such, you know, so many puzzles together and they are all connected.

Yeah, I think we're doing a good job. I don't think about my past results at all. Like, whenever someone is asking me streak or something, I don't even think about it. Of course it helps sometimes, like, today when I lost first set, I was like, yeah, you can do it, you can pull it off. It's okay. You have done it before many times. So that helps.

It doesn't necessarily, like, rules my game, you know.

Q. I believe you have started working with Dr. Ceccarelli on the mental training part at Piatti Tennis Center. Sinner has been doing the same. Can you share about how it's been working for you? It's been making a difference?

MARTA KOSTYUK: First of all, how do you guys know about this? (Laughter.)

This is, like, do you have spies around or what? Well, I don't hide it or anything. It's just funny, because nobody talks about this.

Yeah, I mean, I didn't do a lot of it, but I think my osteo, Claudio, who is part of Piatti team many, many years, he told me after -- it was very difficult message, that he sent after I lost in Melbourne first round and I got injured, and he said, yeah, like, your mind was not in the right place, like, you need to work on that.

He didn't say it in that way. He was just like texting on the group, saying, Yeah, I think there are things that can be improved, and it wasn't good at all. He introduced us to this Mental Economy Training, and I have been doing that since then. I don't know. It's super cool.

It doesn't work for everyone, though. Like, we have spoken with them a lot, and they are, like, yeah, there are some players who are unbelievable at this, but they just go on court and nothing, like, it's, like, gone.

Yeah, but I'm happy with the work we've done. I don't know exactly what has changed, like, because I didn't do also that much. But I think what -- like, the biggest difference that I see is that I care way less on the court, and, like, I don't spend too much, like, of my brain energy on things. I just let it go faster. And I know the feeling that I have when I practice this thing, when I don't use my brain energy, and I'm trying to find that feeling.

So that helps me to not burn out, you know, or to be exhausted after long matches or whatever. So, yeah, I think that is the biggest difference for me.

Q. There are always stages of growth in your career. You have been at it for a while and taken many steps. I just want to know, do you feel like in the last three months with what's been happening with you on the court there is something that you have now that you didn't have before, maybe?

MARTA KOSTYUK: Well, I think coming back to that previous answer that I worked on that part of not giving too much, you know, especially when it's unnecessary, to not care that much. And that was very difficult part for me, because I felt like everything is very important and, you know, everything costs a lot.

Yeah, for sure that changed, and this is what helped me to not be tired after the weeks. Like, it took me just a few days to recover from Madrid. When before, even if we take Brisbane, after Brisbane, I didn't have enough time to recover from Melbourne. I was really, really tired. I mean, Brisbane was really good week, but it just cost me a lot of energy and everything.

I think that changed the most, but I was working on that part for a long time, as well. It's just that I work it in different ways. It's very, like, it's a long conversation, you know, if I will start to explain everything.

Yeah, I've said it before, like, my biggest problem before was that mentally it was difficult for me to sustain the level. Right now it's less of an issue, for sure.