'It's her best quality': Kostyuk lauds Svitolina's grit as motivation in comeback

Marta Kostyuk and Elina Svitolina made it a strong day on Wednesday for the top two Ukranian players on the WTA Tour. 

Kostyuk, the top seed in the Open Capfinances Metropole in Rouen, France, notched a gritty 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 comeback win over Caty McNally. It certainly wasn't an easy outing for Kostyuk, but throughout the match, she thought of Svitolina's fight and determination as intrinsic motivation during difficult moments in the match. 

Svitolina, who's playing at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 500 event in Stuttgart this week, won the 250 title in Rouen in 2025. 

"It’s nice to be back after Elina winning here also being the first seed," Kostyuk said on court. "When I was in difficult moments in the matches I was thinking about her and how she fights always. It’s her best quality I think. I wanted to bring out the best as well."

Kostyuk fought back after a dominant first set by McNally. In the final two sets, Kostyuk notched five of her six breaks, winning 12 of the final 15 games.

Over in neighboring Germany, Svitolina wasted no time, earning a 6-1, 6-0 win over Eva Lys in 54 minutes. Both Kostyuk and Svitolina are now through to the quarterfinals in their respective tournaments, with the former set to face Ann Li while Svitolina awaits the winner of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Linda Noskova.