Marta Kostyuk surprises Wimbledon by securing, for the first time in her career, a spot in the tournament's quarter-finals after defeating Ashlyn Krueger in straight sets. The Ukrainian, who had already reached her first Grand Slam semi-final at Roland Garros earlier this year, continues to demonstrate that she is experiencing the best moment of her career.
Kostyuk will now face Jasmine Paolini, after a season of achievements: she triumphed in two finals out of the three she contested this year, including her first title on clay at the Open de Rouen, where she defeated compatriot Veronika Podrez. In Madrid, she beat Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva, who later avenged that loss by eliminating her in the semi-finals in Paris. At Wimbledon, she had never progressed past the third round, but she is now performing at the highest level on the London grass, despite not having played any preparatory tournaments on this surface.
*The World Cup is experienced with LEGO*
[THE 2026 WORLD CUP IS EXPERIENCED WITH LEGO](https://www.lego.com/pt-pt/categories/football/football-gifts-toys)
Questioned at a press conference about the mental work she has been doing to avoid falling back into old habits of associating her personal worth with on-court results, Kostyuk was emphatic: “Certainly, different things can happen in life. Something may happen, I could revert to old habits. But I have worked hard not to do that. I talked about this in Paris. I said that changing these habits was the hardest thing I have ever had to experience or do. For me, playing tennis is much easier than this. Because it takes much longer to improve. It requires a lot more work, a lot more self-awareness,” said the 24-year-old tennis player, highlighting the mental effort required to distance herself from old patterns.
A herself acknowledges that early success can be a challenge: “It’s the same as when you have a great success while young and many new things happen, and you have no idea how to deal with it. Once you know what it takes to get there, once you do it a few times, you start to have a rough idea of what to expect, and of course that makes things probably less exciting, but more stable,” added Kostyuk, reflecting on the maturity gained during this time.
On the other side will be Jasmine Paolini, who has already warned that she expects a highly demanding encounter: “She is a very tough opponent. She is playing high-level tennis this year. She has improved a lot. She can be very aggressive. She is a great athlete. She moves very well on the court. It’s going to be a difficult match, very difficult. We have to prepare well and observe her playing style on grass,” the Italian stated in anticipation of the duel.
Paolini, a finalist at Wimbledon in 2024, is also going through a period of affirmation, although she has not reached any finals in 2026, following her last title won at the Italian Open last year. The head-to-head between the two slightly favors the Italian, 2-1.
The clash between Kostyuk and Paolini promises to be one of the highlights of these quarter-finals, with the winner facing Linda Noskova or Elise Mertens in the semi-finals.
NOW YOU CAN FOLLOW THE WORLD CUP WITH ALL THE INFORMATION – HERE
O MUNDIAL 2026 VIVE-SE COM A LEGO
AGORA PODE ACOMPANHAR O MUNDIAL DE FUTEBOL COM TODA INFORMAÇÃO – AQUI
Discover more from Apito Final
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
