Marta Kostyuk has reached the first Wimbledon quarterfinal of her career. The Ukrainian tennis star has had a strong season so far, reaching a final on hard courts, winning two titles on clay, one of them a WTA 1000 title, and is now looking to carry that form into the grass-court swing.
She has won 20 of her last 21 matches.
Kostyuk's upcoming opponent Jasmine Paolini was the runner-up at Wimbledon two years ago, where she lost to Barbora Krejcikova in three sets. This marks the Italian's sole grass-court singles final of her career.
Kostyuk is yet to reach a final on this surface. In fact, entering this season, Kostyuk carried a grass-court win percentage of just 40% (10-25 record), which included losing her opening match at all three of her grass events in 2025.
Following her gruelling Roland Garros fortnight, Marta Kostyuk was set to commence her grass swing at the Queen's Club Championships, however, she withdrew from the tournament due to an ankle injury. At 2026 Wimbledon, she has been taken to three sets twice, and she played her last match against Ashlyn Krueger. With her formidable runs in Paris and London this year, Kostyuk has now made it to a Grand Slam quarter-final on every surface.
On the other hand, Jasmine Paolini has reached her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since Wimbledon 2024. Paolini, who had great 2024 and 2025 seasons, has experienced an injury-hampered first half of 2026 and exited the WTA top 10 after failing to defend her Italian Open title.
Despite her uneven form this season, Paolini is looking more comfortable on grass. In the fourth round at Wimbledon, she overcame Alexandra Eala in three sets. Eala was a fan favorite, fresh off a straight-sets win over the defending champion Iga Swiatek. Paolini sealed the victory at Centre Court in front of her tennis idol, and the unofficial King of Wimbledon, Roger Federer.
Paolini leads the head-to-head 2-1 against Kostyuk. However, the pair last met in 2023 and have never played outside of hard courts. Though Paolini is the more experienced player on grass and leads the head-to-head, Kostyuk is more in form and challenging to beat this season. She has not lost to a player outside of the top 10 this season except for Elsa Jacquemot in the opening round of the Australian Open.
Their upcoming match will be an interesting one and a highly anticipated clash of contrasting styles. Paolini relies on rapid footwork, consistency, and building a baseline rhythm, while Kostyuk plays explosive, first-strike tennis designed to rip control away from her opponent immediately.
Match Prediction: Marta Kostyuk to win in three sets.
(233 Articles Published)