The London courts of Wimbledon 2026 became the arena for Marta Kostiuk's impressive return. Ukraine's top tennis player, ranked 13th in the WTA rankings, began her journey at the year's most prestigious grass tournament with a crushing victory. In her opening match, she left no chances for Argentine Nadia Podoroska, who ranks in the bottom 500 of the world rankings.
Return after injury
For Marta, this match held special significance. It was the Ukrainian's first official match after reaching the Roland Garros semi-finals and a forced break due to injury recovery. Despite a complete lack of match practice on grass courts this season, Kostiuk, seeded high as the 12th seed, proved her status as an undisputed favorite from the first minutes.
A match lasting only 55 minutes
The first-ever head-to-head meeting between the tennis players turned into a true blitzkrieg. The match lasted only 55 minutes, and the Ukrainian completely outplayed her opponent in every aspect. In the first set, Podoroska managed to hold only her opening serve. After that, Kostiuk launched a powerful surge, winning five games in a row. Minor problems arose only at 5-1, when the Ukrainian had to defend break points on her serve, but she did not lose the set – 6-1.
The second set began according to a similar scenario – Marta instantly took a 4-0 lead. At 5-1, the Argentine with Ukrainian roots managed to save two match points, but after the change of ends, Kostiuk coolly and confidently closed out the game on her serve.
Statistics of domination
Kostiuk's technical superiority was obvious. She recorded 6 aces and an impressive 20 actively won balls (winners), while Podoroska managed to complete only two such rallies during the entire match. This success allowed Marta to improve on her result from last year, when she retired from Wimbledon at the start.
Ukrainian surge and opponent in the second round
Marta Kostiuk became the third of seven Ukrainian tennis players to advance to the second round of singles. Yesterday, in a super-heavy thriller with four saved match points, this was achieved by Daina Yastremska (WTA 67). In addition, Daria Snihir (WTA 77) created the upset of the day, sensationally knocking out Elina Svitolina (WTA 8). Angelina Kalinina, Alexandra Oleinikova, and Yulia Starodubtseva have already ended their fight at the grass major.
In the second round (Round of 32) of the competition, Kostiuk will have a great opportunity to avenge her compatriot. She awaits a match against "neutral" Anna Blinkova (WTA 114), who knocked Yulia Starodubtseva out of the tournament a few hours earlier.