Kostyuk comes from behind to defeat Volynets and reach the third round of Roland-Garros
Marta Kostyuk continued her winning streak on the Paris clay and advanced to the third round of Roland-Garros 2026 after a demanding duel against Katie Volynets. The Ukrainian tennis player, seeded 15th, defeated the American after three sets, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, thereby recovering from the loss of the first set and confirming the good form with which she arrived in Paris. According to the match score, Volynets won the opening section in a tie-break, but Kostyuk then managed to take control of the rhythm and stabilize her game in the key moments. Such an outcome is especially important because in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament it is often clear how well a player can maintain concentration after an early deficit on the scoreboard. For Kostyuk, the victory also meant a continuation of her positive start to the tournament after a convincing performance in the first round.
Turnaround after a lost tie-break
The duel between Kostyuk and Volynets had the characteristics of a match in which the initial score did not clearly show the final balance of strength. By winning the first-set tie-break, Volynets put pressure on the favorite, and such moments on clay often require patience, physical endurance and readiness for long rallies. Kostyuk responded more securely in the second set, which she won 6-3, thereby leveling the match and returning it to a framework that suited her better. In the third set she repeated the same score, again 6-3, and closed the encounter without the need for another dramatic ending. According to the available results, the key to her comeback was that after losing the first set she did not allow the tie-break to determine the continuation of the encounter.
Volynets showed enough stability in the first part of the match to take advantage of the opportunity offered and move ahead against a player who had arrived in Paris with a higher ranking and greater expectations. The American tennis player thus confirmed that her entry into the second round was no coincidence, especially because she had previously known how to play awkward matches against Kostyuk. However, after the initial advantage, she did not manage to maintain the same level until the end of the encounter. Kostyuk, on the other hand, gradually took more initiative and in the closing phase imposed herself as the player who better controlled the important points. The score in the second and third sets shows that after the initial uncertainty the match turned toward the Ukrainian tennis player.
An important victory for the 15th seed
Kostyuk entered Roland-Garros 2026 as the 15th seed, which makes her victory against Volynets expected by position in the draw, but not simple by the course of the match. According to the official Roland-Garros website, in the first round she defeated Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-2, 6-3, in one hour and 18 minutes, which allowed her a relatively calm start to the tournament. The tournament's official report described that performance as emotional, because before the match Kostyuk spoke about concern for her family in Ukraine after news of a missile strike near her parents' home. The Associated Press also reported that this circumstance additionally marked her first performance in Paris. In that context, the victory in the second round is not only a sporting result, but also confirmation that she managed to maintain focus in a competitively and emotionally demanding week.
For Kostyuk, reaching the third round is also important because of her previous history at Roland-Garros. According to the preview by the specialized portal Tennis Temple, before this tournament, in seven appearances in the Roland-Garros main draw, she had advanced beyond the second round only once, in 2021. That detail gives additional weight to the victory over Volynets because it points to progress in the part of the season in which seeds are expected to confirm their ranking. The clay surface in Paris demands a different rhythm from faster courts, and against Volynets Kostyuk had to show adaptation after a set that went to her opponent. The success is therefore important both as a result and as a psychological boost for the continuation of the tournament.
Volynets opened the match without fear
Katie Volynets entered the match as the lower-ranked player, but with enough reason to believe that she could make the seed's job difficult. Tennis Temple noted in its match preview that before this encounter Volynets had won the only previous head-to-head meeting against Kostyuk, which gave additional context to their second encounter. The American tennis player is known for her fighting spirit and readiness for longer points, and precisely such characteristics are important at Roland-Garros, where an advantage is rarely gained without patient point construction. Winning the first set in a tie-break confirmed that Volynets managed to impose competitive uncertainty and exploit the moments in which the favorite did not find a sufficiently clean finish. Still, after Kostyuk raised the level of her game, Volynets did not retain the same efficiency in the continuation of the encounter.
Although the defeat in three sets means the end of her appearance in the singles competition, Volynets can take several positive elements from the match. In the first set she showed that she can hold the score against a player from the seeded group and that she does not rely only on her opponent's errors. At Grand Slam tournaments, such performances often serve as a measure of progress, especially for players who are trying to build continuity against better-ranked opponents. But to advance against Kostyuk it was necessary to maintain the level through three sets, and that was precisely the part in which the Ukrainian made the difference. Volynets was left without a final response after losing the second set and thereby allowed her opponent to enter the deciding section with more confidence.
Tournament context: heat, surprises and a strong women's draw
The second round of Roland-Garros 2026 was played on days marked by demanding weather conditions and several major stories from the Paris complex. The Guardian reported that high temperatures in Paris were causing problems for players, and the case of Jakub Menšík particularly resonated, as he collapsed due to cramps after almost five hours of play following his victory against Mariano Navone. The same source stated that other players also commented on the conditions, including Novak Đoković, who warned of the need for better scheduling of matches in parts of the day with less heat. Such context is important for the women's part of the tournament as well, because physical expenditure in the early rounds can affect the later stages of the competition. The match between Kostyuk and Volynets did not stand out with extreme duration like some men's duels, but it showed how much patience and energy three sets on clay can require.
At the same time, the women's tournament in Paris had already gained additional uncertainty at an early stage. In its coverage of the fourth day of the tournament, The Guardian stated that Yuliia Starodubtseva eliminated second seed Elena Rybakina after three sets, which was described as one of the biggest surprises of that part of the tournament so far. The same report mentioned that Iga Świątek and Novak Đoković advanced, while in the women's competition Marta Kostyuk, Belinda Bencic and Elina Svitolina also progressed. Such a picture of the tournament shows that the draw was open to changes already in the first days, especially when seeds encounter players who are ready to attack without great pressure. For Kostyuk it was therefore important to avoid the trap of the second round and not allow her match to turn into another early surprise.
Stability after a difficult start as the most important sign
The most important element of Kostyuk's victory was the way she responded to losing the first set. In Grand Slam matches played best of three sets for women, such a deficit leaves little room for error, because the second set becomes a period in which a player must both attack and avoid additional risk. Kostyuk managed to level without entering another tie-break, which suggests that she read the rhythm of the exchanges better in the continuation and found solutions before the closing stage of the set. She then turned the third set into confirmation of the comeback, not into another uncertain ending. Precisely that difference between the first set and the continuation of the match is the clearest indicator of her mental stability.
When the broader course of her performance in Paris is observed, the victory over Volynets follows on from a convincing first round and maintains the continuity that Kostyuk brought to the tournament. After her first victory, the official Roland-Garros website highlighted that she had continued her winning streak, and Tennis Temple noted in the second-round preview that she had arrived in Paris with ten consecutive victories and a significant rise in the rankings. Although such streaks cannot automatically be transferred to every new match, they create the impression of a player who knows how to win even when she does not play perfectly from the first point. Against Volynets, that was precisely what proved decisive: Kostyuk did not have to dominate the entire encounter, but she had to find a sufficiently stable response after an unsuccessful start. She managed to do so without losing control in the final two sets.
What the victory means for the continuation of Roland-Garros
Reaching the third round brings Kostyuk a new level of challenge, because at that stage of a Grand Slam tournament the draw begins to narrow and the differences among players become smaller. Seeds in the first two rounds often carry the burden of expectations, but from the third round the emphasis increasingly shifts to the ability to adapt to opponents who have already won several matches and gained a feel for the conditions. Against Volynets, Kostyuk showed that she can survive an uncomfortable start on the scoreboard, which is a quality that at major tournaments is often worth as much as convincing victories. If she wants to extend her Paris appearance, she will have to maintain the level from the second and third sets, especially in service games and in points that decide break points. Such details on clay usually determine the difference between advancing and defeat.
For the tournament, her progress is also important because of the broader picture of Ukrainian players in women's tennis. In its report from the fourth day, The Guardian stated that Kostyuk, Starodubtseva and Svitolina were among the players who advanced, which further highlighted the Ukrainian presence in the early stage of the competition. At the same time, sporting results cannot be separated from the context Kostyuk spoke about after the first round, when, according to reports by the Associated Press and the official Roland-Garros website, she publicly described concern for her family after an attack in Ukraine. Such circumstances do not change the score on the scoreboard, but they explain the additional level of pressure with which individual players enter matches. In that sense, the comeback against Volynets was both a competitively and mentally important step.
With a 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 victory, Kostyuk avoided an early exit and continued her run at a tournament where more is expected of her this season than in previous Paris editions. Volynets opened the encounter bravely enough to win the first set, but she did not manage to maintain the advantage when the match entered the phase in which repeatable patterns of play and stability under pressure decided matters. The Ukrainian tennis player enters the continuation of Roland-Garros with two victories, one convincing and one earned after a comeback, which is a combination that often prepares a player better for tougher opponents than a completely simple path through the draw. Her next appearance will show whether she can turn that combination of form, confidence and resilience into a deeper result in Paris.
Sources:
- Roland-Garros – official first-round result of Marta Kostyuk against Oksana Selekhmeteva and match data (link)
- Roland-Garros – official post about Marta Kostyuk's emotional first appearance at Roland-Garros 2026 (link)
- WTA – results and schedule of the Roland-Garros 2026 tournament (link)
- Tennis Temple – preview and context of the Marta Kostyuk - Katie Volynets match in the second round of Roland-Garros 2026 (link)
- Flashscore – match page for Marta Kostyuk - Katie Volynets with score and statistical data (link)
- Associated Press – report on Marta Kostyuk's first appearance and the circumstances related to the attack in Ukraine (link)
- The Guardian – coverage of the fourth day of Roland-Garros 2026 and the tournament context, heat and results in the women's draw (link)