Kostyuk explains why she will not shake hands with Potapova tomorrow

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It's satisfying when a player approaches her maximum potential. It's the clear example of Marta Kostyuk, igniting a streak of ten consecutive victories and already with her feet in the Madrid WTA 1000. A woman completely renewed compared to the past.

And I think we all remember that past, those beginnings where Marta Kostyuk lost matches for not being able to manage her emotions. Today, the Ukrainian is 23 years old, old enough to have matured and faced this circuit from a different perspective. In the Mutua Madrid Open, she has made it to the semifinals, where she will face Anastasia Potapova in a match that will be a toss-up. With the confidence of having won the last ten matches she has played, we will see if Marta is capable of taking one step further and reaching what would be her most important final as a professional.

Semifinalist in Madrid

"I try to take all of this day by day, the truth is that I still can't believe I'm in the semifinals of this tournament, I just think it's another match. In the end, events like this really drag on, so I try not to think too much about what lies ahead, I just enjoy playing tennis."

Punishing her opponent's second serve

"Today I found it very easy to return her serve, although at times I accelerated it and changed the rhythm. With today's wind, there were strange bounces on the clay, so it wasn't easy. But yes, the intention was to pressurize her. I think it worked quite well because it was cold, so the ball didn't bounce as much as it usually does during the day or when it's warmer. In general, we both returned quite well, but my goal was to get her moving and pressure her with the second serve, which helped me a lot in the statistics."

Ten consecutive victories on this tour

"I think I've been playing good tennis throughout the year, although I had a tough draw in Indian Wells and Miami. After those two matches, I wasn't so disappointed, I built some confidence by working, without linking my state to the results. I kept working after those two tournaments, it helped me stay emotionally stable, enduring different situations. Now I do it much better than before, I handle everything better, so I also don't think that confidence comes from winning many matches. It's a combination of several things, although if you are No. 1 or No. 2 in the world, surely that confidence comes after great results. For me, the most important thing is how you back yourself up in difficult moments, how you overcome them."

The key to better managing emotions on the court

"Aging helps a lot, although I've been in therapy for many years. I always wanted to change my perspective on tennis, for me, it was always very emotional, I spent a lot of energy, everything mattered a lot to me. Victories or defeats, it didn't matter, it was hard to live with that emotional bombardment, so therapy helped to delve into uncomfortable things. It's an ugly path, but I always wanted how I wanted to be inside the court, how I didn't want to be. I remember when I made the final in San Diego, even that tournament was a disaster for me mentally, it destroyed me inside, I didn't want to win in that way. These years, I've tried to change that narrative in my head, taking away some of that emotional attachment. Now, win or lose, what I do is keep working to be a better person and a better player."

Against Potapova in the semifinals

"She has had a great journey here, she feels comfortable, she seems self-assured. She did very well in Linz, reaching the final, so it will be a great match. It's the first time she has made semifinals of a WTA 1000 on clay, same as me. It will be interesting, I'm excited to go out and explore the process of that match, excited to see how far I can go and what challenges I can face in the match. I just try to focus on that, I don't think about whether she entered as a lucky loser."

Marta Kostyuk explains why she won't shake hands with Potapova

"The only person I shake hands with is Daria Kasatkina because not only did she change her passport, she also openly said she does not support the war and all those things. This is why I and other girls made the decision not to shake hands, purely out of respect. In this case, there were other players who changed their nationality, but none of them have publicly expressed opposition to the war, they said nothing to support the Ukrainian people. So, for me, this doesn't change."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Kostyuk explica por qué mañana no estrechará la mano de Potapova