The Ukrainian tennis player has criticized the decision to lift Russia’s Olympic ban

Marta Kostyuk, the Ukrainian tennis player who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals on Wednesday, has attacked the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) “terrible” decision to allow Russian athletes to compete at Los Angeles 2028.

Tuesday the IOC has temporarily lifted the suspension of Russian athletespaving the way for them to compete in the next Olympic Games in two years.

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After her 6-3, 6-2 win over Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, Kostyuk condemned the IOC’s decision and said she was considering lobbying to change the ruling.

“My thoughts are it’s terrible,” Kostyuk said. “I think it is far from fair play for all countries involved, and not just Ukraine. I disagree 100 percent with this decision.

“I don’t think anything is going to change. I just want to go out there and hopefully beat every Russian I play in the Olympics and that’s it.”

Kostyuk has constantly thought about her friends and family in Ukraine during her participation in SW19, as well as the four years since the invasion began. Russia has stepped up attacks on Kievher hometown, in recent months. One rocket attack in May hit just 100 meters from her parents’ home.

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Earlier this week, another rocket attack targeted five kilometers from Kostyuk’s parental home.

“It’s not easy to completely disconnect,” says Kostyuk. “It was very hard for me last week when the first major attack happened. On Monday, four streets of residential buildings were destroyed. It was about five kilometers from where my parents live.”

“Again, another difficult night and a lot of dead people, innocent people, children. It’s not easy. I’ve tried to be aware of everything that’s going on. Of course I try [not to let] these things affect me too much. Every day is different. I deal with it as it goes.”

Kostyuk is firmly focused on her first Wimbledon semi-final, which will be played against Czech Linda Noskova on Friday. But she is considering lobbying the International Tennis Federation and the Ukrainian government after the championships to see if the IOC can be pressured to reverse its decision.

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“I’m sure we’ll do something about it,” Kostyuk said. “I’m definitely not going to do this before my semi-final match. Maybe I can talk more about it in the US or wherever, when I have time to talk to the team, to the girls, also to the government, to see what we’re going to do about it.”

Kostyuk believes that if she were to win the title in SW19, it would be a source of joy for the Ukrainian people.

“I hope it would mean a lot,” Kostyuk said. If she became the first-ever Ukrainian grand slam winner, Kostyuk would dedicate the victory to her mother and grandfather.

“I’m so happy I can do this while my grandpa is still alive,” she said. “He’s 89 years old. He texts me after every game and tells me what I need to do better. I mean, the last few games he didn’t do that. He was just super proud and told me how well I’m playing. That’s a win.”

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“I haven’t gotten many messages like this from him in my life,” Kostyuk said with a beaming smile. “I’m very happy that they can witness this. I think they sacrificed so much time, energy and themselves for my tennis, for my career. They still do. They are back home now. I feel like they deserve it as much as I do.”

Kostyuk made her debut on Center Court and put in a great performance against Paolini, who was seeded one place lower than the Ukrainian in twelfth place. Kostyuk wins in one hour and nine minutes and has plenty of time to rest before her semi-final against Noskova, who defeated Belgian Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5.

Kostyuk’s forehand was in a state of rare poise, causing Paolini to move back and forth while generating tremendous depth. Her superiority was evident in the fifth game of the match, when she provided the first break of service. With Deuce, who took the ball deep to her right, Kostyuk hit a forehand winner down the line. When Kostyuk got a second serve on the next point, she gave herself space and hit an inside-out forehand return winner, marking the shot with a fist pump.

This was one of 11 forehand winners Kostyuk hit. Paolini managed four, with her normally powerful forehand failing. She hit 16 unforced errors on her forehand, twice as many as Kostyuk.

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While Paolini’s serve was constantly threatened, Kostyuk didn’t face even a single break point the entire match. She won all eight of her service games and made no mistakes.

Kostyuk was so imperious that Roger Federer would have been proud to call her performance his. In 2017, Kostyuk had watched Federer thrash Tomas Berdych on Center Court during the championships. Nine years later, Kostyuk finally played on Center Court: “a dream come true,” she said.

Now she will be able to realize this dream twice in 24 hours. And on this evidence, Kostyuk is primed for a return to the finals on Saturday.

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