Marta Kostyuk stuns Iga Swiatek on her birthday to reach a first French Open quarterfinal

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk reacts after the fourth-round tennis against Poland's Iga Swiatek match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

PARIS — There will be a first-time women’s champion at Roland-Garros this year, and the odds are stacked in Marta Kostyuk’s favor.

Undefeated this season on clay, the 15th-seeded Ukrainian player reached the quarterfinals at the French Open for the first time on Sunday by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 and ruining her birthday.

None of the players still in the draw have yet lifted the trophy in Paris, following Coco Gauff’s elimination on Saturday and Swiatek’s exit. It’s the same in the men’s draw, after the defeats of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic and with Carlos Alcaraz absent because of an injury.

Kostyuk had lost her three previous matches against Swiatek and never taken a set against the former top-ranked player, who turned 25 on Sunday.

“I’m still in shock. To beat such an unbelievable player, who won four times here,” she said.

Kostyuk has been the best player of the clay-court season. She defended extremely well, chasing Swiatek’s shots all over the court, and also produced some stunning groundstroke winners while her rival was also undone by her own mistakes.

An intense baseline battle unfolded from the outset and Swiatek earned the first break when she overwhelmed Kostyuk after a long rally with a backhand winner. Kostyuk broke back immediately, though, only to drop her serve again and hand Swiatek a 5-4 lead.

The Polish player showed signs of nerves as she double-faulted, shanked a forehand wide and then missed a volley at the net, allowing Kostyuk to level at 5-5. Swiatek hit two more double faults in the 12th game and the 15th-seeded Ukrainian player sealed the set with a backhand passing shot.

Swiatek then briefly left the court. Meanwhile, Kostyuk kept herself warm by stretching and hopping beside her chair, then received some applause as she did a few dance moves to the music playing in the stadium.

Following a first week marked by a suffocating heatwave, relief finally arrived in Paris on Sunday, with temperatures dropping to 21 degrees C (70 F) around midday.

When play resumed, Swiatek broke, but yet another double fault coupled with more unforced errors brought her opponent back at 1-1. Kostyuk then won the last five games.

Kostyuk had reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2021, losing to Swiatek.

The 15th-ranked Ukrainian is in a strong run of form and extended her winning streak on clay to 16 matches. Ahead of Roland Garros, she won in Madrid — the biggest title of her career — after she claimed another clay-court title in Rouen, France.

“The most important thing that I’ve been doing this whole time is really just trying to enjoy,” she said. “It’s helping. I want to keep enjoying. I try not to focus at all on winning or losing because I’m not playing tennis to win, I’m playing tennis because I love it.”

Swiatek has not won a title on clay since the 2024 French Open.

17 years later

Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea, who is planning to retire at the end of the season, beat Chinese qualifier Wang Xiyu 6-3, 7-6 (4) to reach her second Roland Garros quarterfinal, 17 years after first making it to the last eight.

The gap between Cirstea’s first and second Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances in Paris is the longest at a single major by any woman in the Open Era.

“There is no expiration date for ambition and for dreams,” Cirstea said. “And I have so much passion for this sport. I absolutely love tennis and to be able to play to still play at this level, have my family, my team, the closest people watching me.

“It’s an absolute joy. Sometimes society puts us in certain groups because of the age, but I think in life you are free to do whatever you want and I want to play. And here I am.”

AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf contributed to this report.

Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press