Kostyuk keeps focus in Paris after missile strike near homemissile strike near home
Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk won her first-round French Open match in Paris on Sunday while speaking about a missile strike near her parents' home in Ukraine.
The incident brought the war closer to her family as she advanced at Roland-Garros, underscoring how the conflict continues to affect Ukrainian athletes far from the front line.
Marta Kostyuk's view
Kostyuk described the strike as deeply upsetting because it happened near her parents' home and said she struggled to keep from crying. She said staying focused in Paris felt especially hard because the war was touching her family directly.
Ukrainian supporters
Supporters in the stands treated her win as more than a tennis result and as a lift for families watching from home. They saw the match as a small moment of pride during a difficult period for Ukraine.
- The French Open is the only Grand Slam played on clay, which slows the ball and favors long rallies.
- Roland-Garros stadium is built on land once used as an aviation site near Paris.
- Clay-court specialists often peak later in their careers because the surface rewards patience and endurance.
Russia-Ukraine War
Russia and Ukraine are locked in an retaliatory long-range drone and missile war that now strikes deep into both countries, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Crimea, and major Ukrainian cities like Kyiv and Dnipro. Ukrainian forces launched one of their largest drone attacks on June 26, striking 12 Russian regions and hitting key energy targets, while Russia continues massive retaliatory bombardments that kill civilians and destroy infrastructure.
26 June, 09:41 AM
Ukraine unleashes massive drone bombardment on 12 Russian regions24 June, 10:31 AM
Ukrainian drones knock out power in Russian-held Sevastopol22 June, 03:20 PM
Ukraine strikes Russian missile electronics plant in Voronezh
