Ukrainian WTA icon Marta Kostyuk leaves behind Aryna Sabalenka, Qinwen Zheng, and Coco Gauff among others to achieve an impressive feat at the Australian Open 2024

The 21-year-old Ukrainian could not be scaled by any other woman following her impressive run to the quarter-finals.

Ukrainian WTA icon Marta Kostyuk leaves behind Aryna Sabalenka, Qinwen Zheng, and Coco Gauff among others to achieve an impressive feat at the Australian Open 2024

Coco Gauff, Marta Kostyuk, Aryna Sabalenka (Images via Twitter)

The 2024 Australian Open was a great event for Ukrainian tennis, especially in the women’s category. The singles main draw saw multiple Ukrainian ladies making it deep into the Grand Slam.

The quarter-finals saw Marta Kostyuk and Dayana Yastremska fighting for a place in the semis. Yastremska had a fantastic run as she made it to the main-draw after winning the qualifying rounds. She however fell to Qinwen Zheng in the semis losing out on a place in the finals.

YouTube video

As for Kostyuk, the young gun lost in a close battle to reigning US Open winner Coco Gauff. The American won a close three-set battle which many called an ‘ugly win‘. Not much separated the two players as the match was extremely close and could have gone either way.

But it was just Gauff’s luck that saw her prevail. Despite the quarter-final exit, Kostyuk remained unmatched in one aspect at the fortnight-long Grand Slam. The 21-year-old finished the tournament as the woman with the most winners hit. She hit a total of 186 winners during her stay of five matches.

With four of the matches going into the third set, the Ukrainian had to rely on her powerful winners to secure results for her. She narrowly edged out the event’s runner-up Zheng who finished second with 184 winners to her name. No other player hit more than 161 as Yastremska finished third on the list.

Ukrainian flag flies high at Melbourne Park

The Major in Melbourne Park was a good time for Ukrainian tennis with the ladies showing their strength throughout the event. While they failed to capture the Major title, they can certainly be proud of their individual campaigns at the event.

Marta Kostyuk, Dayana Yastremska, Elina Svitolina
Marta Kostyuk, Dayana Yastremska, Elina Svitolina (Credits: Reuters, Forbes, Last Word on Sports)

Three players made it to the fourth round at the Major, the joint-most by any single nation. Russia was the other nation with three players in the fourth round. Of the three, only Elina Svitolina could not reach the quarter-finals.

Her untimely injury in the first set against Linda Noskova forced her to retire. Had she been fit, she surely had the mettle to reach the last-8 given her sensational form lately. While Kostyuk fell in the quarter-finals, Yastremska made it to the semis.

The run made her the first Ukrainian player, male or female, to reach the semis in Melbourne Park. She is also just the third Ukrainian overall after Andrei Medvedev and Svitolina to reach the semis at a Grand Slam.

Despite Russian controversies at the Australian Open, the Ukrainian ladies will have their heads held high for their performances. While they couldn’t stop the defending champion, Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka, from defending her title, they did show their strengths in other parameters showing their capabilities.

In case you missed it: