Marta Kostyuk slams IOC Russia decision after reaching Wimbledon semi-final
Ukrainian tennis star Marta Kostyuk has fiercely condemned the International Olympic Committee’s decision to provisionally lift its ban on Russian athletes after reaching her first Wimbledon semi-final on Wednesday.
The global sporting body recently recommended that individual sports drop the neutral status requirement for competitors from Russia, drawing immediate backlash from Kyiv.
Speaking after her quarter-final victory over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, the 12th seed expressed disbelief at the prospect of facing fully reinstated opponents at the upcoming Olympic Games.
“My thoughts are that it’s terrible. I 100% don’t agree with this decision and I just want to go out there and hopefully beat every single Russian I play in the Olympics.”
Marta Kostyuk
Balancing Centre Court with conflict at home
The 24-year-old’s remarkable run at the All England Club has been set against a harrowing backdrop of escalating violence in her homeland.
As the world number 12 competed in London, deadly missile strikes continued to target residential areas in the Ukrainian capital.
The recent bombardment included an attack that destroyed buildings just five kilometres from where her parents reside.
“It was really tough for me last week when the first big attack happened. Another difficult night and a lot of dead people, innocent people, kids.”
Marta Kostyuk
Chasing a historic final appearance
Despite the immense emotional toll, the dynamic baseliner is enjoying the best major tournament form of her career.
She has now reached consecutive Grand Slam semi-finals, following a final-four appearance at the French Open where she fell to Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva.
The Kyiv-born star will face the Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova on Thursday for a place in the championship match.
She is aiming to become the first woman from her nation to reach a Wimbledon singles final, surpassing the semi-final runs achieved by compatriot Elina Svitolina in 2019 and 2023.
American sensation Coco Gauff takes on Karolina Muchova in the other semi-final tie, with all remaining Russian singles players having already been eliminated from the grass-court major.