There were no handshakes or photos when Russia’s Mila Andreva defeated Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk to reach the French Open tennis final.
Published June 4, 2026
Russian teenager Mila Andreeva reached her first Grand Slam final, defeating Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 in a tense match at the French Open.
Andreeva converted her first match point when serving time in Thursday’s tennis match.
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But there was no post-match handshake between the two sides, and Kostyuk quickly walked away, simply waving and blowing kisses to the crowd at Philippe Chatrier’s court, some fans draped in Ukrainian flags.
The atmosphere beforehand was somewhat tense, as the players were photographed separately, standing next to two children on each side of the net. Usually, the players stand next to each other at the net and take the same photo.
Kostyuk and her compatriot Oleksandra Olnikova spoke during the conference about the impact Russia’s four-year invasion of Ukraine is having on their country.
The eighth seed took control from the start and never let up, overwhelming Kostyuk with her depth and aggression against Court Philippe-Chatrier and setting up a title showdown with compatriot Diana Schneider or Polish qualifier Maja Czwalinska.
Andreeva, 19, raced to a 4-0 lead in the first set and hardly looked back in the third meeting between the two players, with the Ukrainian winning the first two matches.
Kostyuk momentarily threatened to put up a fight in the second set, but the Russian quickly ended any hopes of a comeback before serving out, completing a dominant display.
“I’m still very nervous. I’m very nervous coming into this match because she’s had a great season. She’s never lost on clay, so that was the pressure,” Andreeva said.
“She’s a great player and a tough opponent, so I’m very happy with how I played. I’m happy to get revenge for the Madrid final and reach my first Grand Slam final.”
“When you put all these emotions together, I’ve never felt anything like this. I’m very excited for my last game here in Paris.”
In Thursday’s mixed doubles final, top seeds Sara Errani/Andrea Vavassoli (Italy) defeated Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada)/Evan King (USA) 4-6, 6-3, 10-4 to win the title.
The Italian is guaranteed to advance to Sunday’s French Open men’s singles final, with Flavio Cobolli facing fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi on Friday in the first Grand Slam semi-final for both players.
