Overview
- Mirra Andreeva defeated Marta Kostyuk in straight sets on Thursday, eliminating the Ukrainian from Roland Garros while Kostyuk’s long‑standing refusal to shake hands with Russian and Belarusian opponents remained in place.
- Kostyuk used press conferences earlier this week to say she “cannot understand” how people can sleep peacefully when their country is killing others and to describe an explosion near her parents’ home as a motivation for speaking out.
- Andreeva, born in 2007, became one of the youngest women to reach the Paris final and the first player born after 2005 to reach a Grand Slam final, marking a major milestone for a rising talent.
- Maja Chwalinska reached the final after coming through qualifying, becoming the first Roland Garros finalist to do so from the qualifiers and positioning herself for a big jump in the rankings.
- The coverage frames a wider split between Ukrainian players who use their platform to highlight the war and Russian players who say they prefer to “just play,” a divide that is shaping public attention on the tournament and could increase pressure on athletes and organisers.