Avoiding Big Apple buzz, Marta Kostyuk makes magic to match career-best run at US Open

NEW YORK—For Marta Kostyuk, Manhattan and major tennis don’t mix.

“I love New York,” insists the 2024 US Open’s No. 19 seed, “but not when you have to play a Slam in New York. It’s incredibly difficult to stay in Manhattan and perform, so I’m not staying there this year. It’s tough. I think some players might like it, and before the tournament it’s nice. But once the tournament starts, it’s too much.”

While most players populate the area surrounding Central Park, Kostyuk opted out of the commute entirely, choosing to stay in calmer Brooklyn instead. That would explain the hipster glasses she wore to press.

“It’s the vibe of Manhattan,” she muses. “There are people rushing, working. It’s not Indian Wells where everyone around is coming to watch tennis and nothing else is going on! It’s like a different world.”

Kostyuk can’t be blamed for chasing serenity in an increasingly chaotic world. Coached by former WTA pro Sandra Zaniewska, the 22-year-old has played the last two years weighed down by the ongoing Russian-Belarusian invasion into Ukraine, a conflict for which Kostyuk has become her contingent’s *de facto* sportswoman.

“I think with time and age you become more calm, because you go through more matches, more stress, more experience, and not everything is so overwhelming,” she said at the BNP Paribas Open, where she reached the semifinals. “I’m still overwhelmed sometimes, especially when things are happening for the first time, but it’s way less than before.”

The circumstances undeniably made her first trip to the Summer Olympic Games all the more emotional, having the opportunity to represent Ukraine along with her fellow athletes.

I love New York but not when you have to play a Slam in New York. It’s incredibly difficult to stay in Manhattan and perform, so I’m not staying there this year...before the tournament it’s nice. But once the tournament starts, it’s too much. Marta Kostyuk

“I have special feelings walking on court and bearing my flag every match I play,” she clarifies. “At regular tournaments, other players don’t care too much about this kind of thing. But at the Olympics, everyone was representing their country, so it felt different. You didn’t feel like anyone was solely playing for themselves of their own achievements. It was really about going out there and doing your best.

“I don’t think it’s possible to have this kind of experience anywhere else. I loved it. I lost a very painful match in the quarters, and was very close to a medal. It’s part of sport, but it was incredible, really. It was one of the best experiences of my life.”

The unrelenting tennis calendar meant Kostyuk, who is in the midst of a career-best season, could spend little time cheering on her fellow Olympians; she flew to the National Bank Open the day after her quarterfinal defeat to Donna Vekic. What followed was a solid two weeks in Canada and Cincinnati that foreshadowed a run to the third round in Flushing Meadows, where she is yet to lose a set.

Dressed in another eye-catching Wilson ensemble—the sporting apparel brand that famously designed her wedding dress—Kostyuk beat Wednesday’s heatwave and edged past Great Britain’s Harriet Dart after a hard-fought first-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (10), 6-1.

“Well, I definitely feel better than the last three years!” Kostyuk jokes, having earned her best US Open result since 2020. “I just keep going match by match. I don’t think too much about what round it is. I feel good. I feel like the work we’re doing is going well. I just want to keep going and keep building.”

Standing between Kostyuk and a spot in the fourth round is a rematch with American Emma Navarro, who narrowly won their most recent meeting in Toronto. The more wins she racks up, the less likely it is she makes the trip into Manhattan she’s been putting off.

“I want to see different places, different museums. There’s a magic show called Stalke that I really want to go to, but I don’t think I’ll make it. It depends on how long I go in the tournament. Supposedly, it’s unbelievable!”

Might Kostyuk make her own magic and secure a debut in the second week?