Marta Kostyuk Blasts IOC Over Russian Olympic Committee Decision Following Wimbledon Exit
Marta Kostyuk called the IOC's decision to reinstate the Russian Olympic Committee "terrible" after reaching the Wimbledon semifinals.
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Marta Kostyuk (Image via X/HQ pics)
Marta Kostyuk strongly criticized the International Olympic Committee’s decision to provisionally lift its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee after advancing deep into the 2026 Wimbledon, calling the move “terrible” as Russia’s war with Ukraine continues.
The IOC announced on Tuesday that it had provisionally lifted the nearly three-year suspension imposed on the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023. The ban was introduced after Russia invaded Ukraine and prevented athletes from competing under the ROC banner.
Since then, Russian competitors have continued to participate in international events as neutral athletes, including Wimbledon, where former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev has competed without the Russian flag beside his name. Speaking after her Wimbledon campaign, the Ukrainian player made her position clear on the IOC’s decision.
My thoughts are that it’s terrible, I think it’s very, very far from fair play for all the countries involved here, not just for Ukraine. I 100% don’t agree with this decision.… I just want to go out there and hopefully beat every single Russian I play in the Olympics.
Marta Kostyuk via the Clay Magazine
The IOC said it would decide at the appropriate time whether the Russian flag, anthem, colors or other national identifiers would be permitted at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The organization also reiterated its condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Kostyuk also spoke about the emotional toll of following events back home while competing at Wimbledon.
It’s not easy to disconnect entirely. It was really tough for me last week when the first big attack happened. Then, on Monday, they ruined like four streets of residential buildings. It was like 5 kilometers away from where my parents live. Again, another difficult night and a lot of dead people, innocent people, kids. It’s not easy. I try to be aware of everything that’s going on. Of course, I try for these things not to influence me too much.
Marta Kostyuk via the Clay Magazine
Her comments came during a week in which Russian strikes on Ukraine reportedly caused dozens of casualties, including attacks in Kyiv.
Marta Kostyuk reflects on the Wimbledon semifinal defeat to Linda Noskova
Marta Kostyuk’s comments on the IOC followed the end of her Wimbledon campaign, where she lost 6-4, 6-4 to ninth seed Linda Noskova in the semifinals. It marked the second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal defeat for the Ukrainian after reaching the last four at Roland Garros earlier this season. After the match, Kostyuk said Noskova’s serving made it difficult to create opportunities on return.
I broke her once, but generally I almost didn’t even come close to break points or anything. It was difficult. I wasn’t even serving that bad today. Just, first of all, she was really good on second serve return. I felt obviously more under pressure because I don’t remember what was her first serve percentage, but it was insane. She won like 90% of first serves, which is crazy, especially against someone like me who returns well. It was tough. Again, I tried my best. All I can take is this.
Marta Kostyuk via Wimbledon post-match press conference
Match statistics showed Noskova won 76% of points behind her first serve, hit one ace, was broken once and converted three break points during the straight sets victory.
Kostyuk also explained what frustrated her most during the contest. “Mostly, I was irritated today with how many lines she hit on the serve. That was it. This was the only thing I was irritated with today.”
Despite the loss, Kostyuk’s run to the Wimbledon semifinals lifted her from world No. 13 to No. 11 in the live WTA rankings, moving her closer to a place inside the top 10.
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