French Open 2026: How Ukraine-Russia tension hangs over Roland Garros semi-finals
Shnaider also refused to talk about the war or his feelings towards it, leading to further criticism from Kostyuk.
“They’re all adults. They know what they’re talking about. They know what’s going on. They have phones. They have Instagram. They have the news. They clearly know what’s going on,” Kostyuk said.
“I don’t know how you can sleep peacefully at night when you know this is the way it is and you have nothing to say about it.”
Kostyuk dedicated each of his Roland Garros victories to his country.
While Kostyuk acknowledged that he was privileged to have a career, which meant he spent a lot of time away from Ukraine, he regularly talked about how the pain felt by people back home increased his motivation to succeed.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Slovakia’s former world number five Daniela Hantuchova said: “This desire comes from having no other option, when you have the war behind you and especially when you know that sport is the only way to escape it.”
The geographical distribution of this year’s women’s semifinalists is quite concentrated, as Shnaider faces Poland’s Maja Chwalinska in the other semifinal.
Each player has their own background, but Hantuchova believes there is a common mentality that helps players in these countries to withstand the challenges thrown at them.
“You don’t question anything you’re told to do to get where you want,” Hantuchova said.
“The starting point creates this incredible hunger and desire to do whatever it takes.”
This resilience was also demonstrated by all four semi-finalists who got their chance in the open draw in Paris.
Whoever manages to maintain the best focus over the next three days will become the first-time Grand Slam champion, which few predicted three weeks ago.
