Marta Kostyuk’s milestone run at the Australian Open has left her hungry for more success in the future.
The 15-year-old Australian Open junior champion stunned the women’s draw by reaching the third round of the tournament. Becoming the youngest player to do so in a grand slam since 1997. Her fairy-tale journey was ended by compatriot Elina Svitolina, who cruised to a 6-2, 6-2, victory on Friday. Experience was very much the factor in the match as Kostyuk only managed to get 37% of her first serves in compared to 71% for Svitolina.
“When I played on Margaret Court in my previous match, I also had problems with my serve. But the difference that the court was a bit smaller, so it was still a bit easier, and I don’t play every day on such a big court.” She said after the match.
Given her achievements at such a young age, many would expect the Ukrainian to be proud of her performance. To a certain extent she is, but what is intriguing is her level of self-belief. After losing Svitolina, who she describes as a ‘god,’ she burst in tears afterwards. It wasn’t so much because of the occasion. It was due to the level of her performance, which she was heavily critical of.
“I know that I could play much better. It was, like, honestly I played really, really bad today.” She said.
“I’m not saying she’s (Svitolina) a bad player. I’m just saying I played bad.
“I didn’t show maybe even 10% of what I can.”
Despite the harsh criticism of herself, the rising star has left a big impression on the women’s tour. Apart from exiting Melbourne with £82,000 in prize money, she will also break into the top 250 on the WTA rankings for the first time. A massive climb for a player who started the week ranked outside the top 500. The Australian Open is only her ninth professional tournament outside of junior competition.
The hype surrounding Kostyuk is partly due to her maturity at such a young age. Throughout the week she has taken her progression within her stride whilst dealing with a media frenzy surrounding her. A characteristic that she attributes to her upbringing. Her mother is former player Talina Beiko, who reached a high of 391st back in 1994.
“I had quite an adult life since I was small. But I didn’t think about this that much, because I also can be a kid, you know, at the same time.” She explained.
“It’s not like I’m always like this, serious. I’m still 15.”
The performance of Kostyuk is one that has earned admiration for Svitolina, who didn’t reach the third round of a grand slam until the age of 19. Describing the performance of the youngsters as ‘amazing,’ the world No.4 is upbeat about what the future holds for the teenager.
“She did an amazing job here. Going through the qualifying, winning one match in qualifying is already good. Winning two matches is, like, awesome. Three matches, passing qualifying, is something unbelievable, and then beating two girls playing good level. She did an amazing job.” Said Svitolina.
Following on from the Australian Open, Kostyuk is not set make her debut in the Fed Cup. Ukraine will take on Australia in Canberra next month.