French Open surprise: Paris queen Iga Świątek eliminated

Iga Świątek's reign at Roland Garros has ended with a stunning upset in the fourth round. The Polish world No. 3, who had won the tournament four times, fell to Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 7:5, 6:1 on Sunday.

Kostyuk, the 15th seed, was not favored to win but came to Paris with strong momentum, having recently won her first WTA 1000 title in Madrid. This victory propels her into her first Grand Slam quarterfinal, where she previously reached the Australian Open quarterfinals in 2024. Her win over Świątek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, is a significant career achievement.

Świątek's defeat extends the list of early departures for top players at this year's French Open. Notable exits include Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, and Coco Gauff. For Świątek, this loss marks her first defeat on the Parisian clay since her debut in 2019, despite a recent coaching change.

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To beat such an amazing player, who won here four times, I lost to her three times, I never took a single set from her, I still can't believe it.

Kostyuk expressed her disbelief after the match, stating, "To beat such an amazing player, who won here four times, I lost to her three times, I never took a single set from her, I still can't believe it." She added that her strategy was simply to enjoy the moment, waking up with the thought of playing on Philippe Chatrier against Świątek.

The Ukrainian player's emotional journey continued as she revealed earlier in the tournament that her family home in Kyiv narrowly escaped a missile strike. Kostyuk's undefeated streak on clay courts now extends to 16 matches.

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I think the most important thing that I was doing is just trying to enjoy. I woke up today and thought what an amazing day I have, to play on Chatrier against Iga.