Swiatek lost in straight sets to Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the round of 16, the day after Gauff’s dismissal.
Published May 31, 2026
Iga Swiatek’s 25th birthday celebrations turned sour as the former French Open champion lost in the round of 16 to 15th seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in straight sets.
Swiatek, seeking his fifth Roland Garros title, was defeated 7-5, 6-1 on Sunday after a shocking round exit at this year’s tournament in the French capital.
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Men’s world number one Jannik Sinner, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and defending women’s champion Coco Gauff have all missed the past three days, while Swiatek’s exit was followed by Chinese number one Wang Xinyu.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is the favorite to win her first title in Paris, but Kostyuk will be a player to watch as she builds on the momentum she has shown on clay this season.
“I’m still in shock,” Kostyuk said in an on-court interview.
“I feel like I’ve been given more space to just create things and challenge my opponents. All I woke up in the morning and thought was, ‘What an incredible day today. … There’s nothing else I can do.'”
“I try not to focus on winning or losing at all because I don’t play tennis to win. I play tennis because I love tennis. I want to connect with people. I want to feel this energy and… make people happy and bring people together.”
There was little to separate the two in the early exchanges as they traded breaks twice, but Kostyuk held firm in the 11th game and leveled up at the end to take the first set with a backhand crosscourt winner.
It was Kostyuk’s first set from the third-seeded Poland after losing three in a row in their previous encounter, and she suffered a huge upset when she fought her way to a 3-1 win in the next set.
The Rouen and Madrid champion took it upon herself from there to improve to 15-0 on clay this season and booked a match against seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine or 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in the next round.
Romanian veteran Solana Cirstea then defeated Wang 6-3, 7-6 (4) to advance to the Roland Garros quarter-finals for the first time in 17 years, proving that dreams have no expiry date.
The 36-year-old, who will retire at the end of the season, reached the Grand Slam quarterfinals for the third time in her career.
It will be her first quarter-final appearance in the French capital since 2009, and the longest gap between the first two quarter-finals of a women’s singles major in the Open era.
“I’ve always believed that ambitions and dreams have no expiration date. I’m very passionate about this sport,” Thursteer said after his win.
“I truly love tennis and I’m really happy to still be able to play at this level with my family, my team and those closest to me watching over me.
“I think sometimes society puts us into a certain group because of our age. But I think in life you are free to do whatever you want. And I want to play. And here I am. Thank you everyone for all your support.”
