Marta Kostyuk Extends Clay-Court Win Streak to 14, Sierra Upsets Paolini to Face Cirstea

Marta Kostyuk extended her winning streak on clay to 14 matches at Roland Garros, but the world No. 15 had to work hard to advance past American Katie Volynets in the second round on Wednesday in Paris. Coming off titles at the WTA 1000 event in Madrid and the WTA 250 in Rouen, the Ukrainian needed 2 hours and 43 minutes to secure a 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3 victory over the 108th-ranked Volynets in hot conditions. After the match, Kostyuk said the most satisfying part was avoiding severe cramps or collapsing in the intense heat. She acknowledged she needed time to adjust and said missing set points in the opening set was costly, noting that if she had converted them, the match likely would have ended in straight sets. Still, she described it as a very good match and praised Volynets’ performance.

The 23-year-old is contesting Roland Garros for the seventh time and is chasing a return to the round of 16, a stage she reached in 2021. Her current winning run began in a Billie Jean King Cup tie between Poland and Ukraine and was then reinforced by back-to-back clay-court titles.

Kostyuk’s third-round opponent will be Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, the world No. 82, who defeated American Alycia Parks 6-2, 6-2 in just 63 minutes. It will be Golubic’s first appearance in the third round at Roland Garros.

Also on Wednesday, Argentina’s Solana Sierra produced one of the day’s biggest surprises by defeating 2024 Roland Garros finalist Jasmine Paolini 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Sierra, 21, is ranked No. 68 and is aiming to match her run at last year’s Wimbledon, when she reached the round of 16. In the next round, she will face a generational clash against Romania’s Sorana Cirstea, 36, who beat Germany’s Eva Lys 6-3, 6-0. Cirstea arrived in Paris after a strong Rome campaign, where she reached the semifinals and achieved the best ranking of her career.