Kostyuk: "Who has never experienced a war at home cannot fully understand what it is"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 19 Jun 2026 | 18.23

Kostyuk: "Who has never experienced a war in their home cannot fully understand what it is". Photo: Gettyimages

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Marta Kostyuk never forgets where she comes from. Not even in one of her career's best moments, with a clay court tour where she lifted the champion's trophy at the Mutua Madrid Open and the WTA Rouen, reaching the semifinals of Roland Garros. The Ukrainian tennis player has been living since 2022 concerned about the Russian invasion in Ukraine, forced to train with air raid alarms and witnessing nearby houses being bombed.

Therefore, Kostyuk always keeps in mind the situation that thousands of her compatriots are facing, as well as most of her relatives. This is a topic she delved into during an interview with our colleagues at Clay Tennis.

Marta Kostyuk confesses the difficult balance between Ukraine and tennis

"With each passing year, I change, I grow, things change, and the war continues. The responsibility doesn't disappear. I focus on what messages I want to convey, what I want to talk about, and on sharing people's pain, my own pain. Those who have never experienced war at home can't fully understand what it means. I do everything possible to raise awareness and explain that what is happening is not normal and should never happen again," laments the 23-year-old.

Despite the dramatic situation in her country, Kostyuk tries to find something positive about it: "I took it as an opportunity to learn to navigate difficult situations and to know myself better. But it comes with great suffering. My goal is to have the greatest possible balance. At one point, I was so focused on the war that I felt if I didn't read the news or wasn't anxious, I was somehow betraying my family or the people over there. But that interfered too much with my daily life."

"I had to tell myself: I am here now. I am not in danger. I can make clear decisions. Last year, I decided to turn off news notifications on my phone. That was part of stress management. You can't be exposed to all of that all the time when you're not in the middle of it," stated the 12th-ranked WTA player.

The situation in her country is a significant psychological handicap in such a mental sport, but Kostyuk sees it as a challenge: "I think it's a good challenge for me. I don't mind having that responsibility. Of course, sometimes it's difficult to speak up when you carry such a heavy subject. But it has also taught me a lot about myself. Every stressful situation reveals something about who you are and how you react. I have tried to use it as a way to grow."

The war continues, just like the WTA circuit, and Marta Kostyuk has no choice but to move forward in a season where things are going well for her, but without forgetting the suffering and bitterness her compatriots in Ukraine are experiencing.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Kostyuk: "Quien nunca haya vivido una guerra en su casa no puede comprender plenamente lo que es"

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