Even with the recent setbacks in Washington, D.C., Ukraine player Marta Kostyuk is still standing strong.
“I got a lot of messages and a lot of apologies from the people that I know from U.S. that are following the news,” she said Friday at the BNP Paribas Open. “Which was amazing to receive, because you never know how people deal with certain situations and how they react.”
After her 6-1, 6-3 second-round victory over wild card Robin Montgomery, Kostyuk spoke about the latest developments in the ongoing conflict affecting her home country of Ukraine. The 22-year-old was born in Kyiv and receives regular updates from her father and grandmother, who still live in the capital.
Last year at Indian Wells, Kostyuk reached her first WTA Tour 1000 semifinal, losing to then-World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.
“The people here are supportive,” Kostyuk said. “Drivers in the [courtesy] cars, people around, they ask, `Where are you from, what are you doing here?’ And you say Ukraine and everyone’s like, `Oh, my God. We are so sorry.' I haven’t received any negative comments from anyone here. It feels good.”
Initially, Kostyuk felt that playing under the Ukrainian flag was a heavy burden. Gradually, she came to realize that she needed to try and focus on her work.
“In the long term, you never know what’s going to happen, as we can see in the previous couple of weeks,” Kostyuk said. “You have to be ready for whatever life throws at you -- because nobody on the other side [of the net] cares what you are going through.
“It’s important to put everything that’s outside of the court aside. Just go out there and do the job that you are doing. We have a saying in Ukraine: `Everything will be fine, and if it’s not fine it means it’s not the end.' I try to stick to that.”
Kostyuk is one of four Ukraine players in the main singles draw, along with No. 23 seed Elina Svitolina, Dayana Yastremska and Anhelina Kalinina.
Ranked No, 24, Kostyuk will next play the winner of the match between American wild card Caroline Dolehide and German lucky loser Eva Lys next.
