Tennis: Marta Kostyuk live results, schedule, matches. What is known about Martha Kostyuk: biography of the Ukrainian sensation Martha Kostyuk tennis biography

Few could have imagined 10 years ago that war would come knocking on our home. It happened. However, there are those for whom the war literally knocked on the door. And they were forced to give up everything and escape either from the occupation or from the hail. Thus began the story of those who became refugees in their own country. Today they already have official status, the state calls such people “internally displaced persons” (IDPs), Ukrainians call them migrants. But behind the dry terminology lie broken destinies and lives.

The enemy came from where we didn't expect it

March 16, 2014. The so-called “referendum” in Crimea finally takes off the masks and it becomes clear that the aggressor and enemy is in the northeast. Intoxicated by the Kremlin’s information propaganda, residents of the south-eastern regions of Ukraine begin to shake up the situation, begin to seize city administrations and call on Putin to send his troops to the rest of Ukraine. This separatist coven “choked”, the “Russian spring” never came, since the overwhelming number of Ukrainians clearly and categorically spoke out for a sovereign and independent Ukraine.

However, several border areas of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions were unable to resist the enemy. Russia armed the separatists and pro-Russian militants, and the active phase of the war began in the east, which was officially called the Anti-Terrorist Operation.

The flow of refugees and the impotence of the state

A stream of refugees poured into the front-line regions of the country, who literally fled, taking only basic things, money and documents. There was no one to turn to for help; the state was quickly mobilizing military personnel and volunteers who could resist the approaching horde from the east.

Therefore, the first to come to the aid of displaced people from Donbass were volunteers. Points for receiving help from the population were organized, where they brought dishes, clothes, food, household chemicals and even toys for children. There are cases when people stopped by household appliance stores and brought new ones!!! kettles, microwave ovens, irons and even refrigerators.

Along with material assistance, the issue of providing informational assistance has become acute. People who came from the east simply did not have contact information, where to turn for housing, financial assistance, etc. Consulting and information centers have been formed. Again, with the direct support of volunteers. There they collected contacts of lawyers, economists, officials, and departments dealing with IDP issues.

Rule of law for migrants

When spontaneous assistance began to develop into systematic assistance, the state was already actively involved at this stage. Law and law - these two instruments were supposed to take the side of those who abandoned their home, who left with nothing and were forced to start life from scratch. To begin with, special departments and divisions are beginning to be formed under key departments, which were tasked with overseeing the issues of resettlers. The main burden was placed on the Ministry of Social Policy, since Ukraine had not previously encountered refugee problems within the country.

People who fled Donbass faced two main problems. Firstly, there is the problem of accommodation. Today in Ukraine there are unreasonably high prices not only for the sale of real estate, but also for its rental. In large cities, where it is possible to find a decent job, renting a house or apartment can average 10 thousand UAH per month. And this is sometimes up to 70% of the entire family’s income. Of course, this became an almost impossible problem for the displaced people, and rooms in dormitories began to be allocated for them. However, this issue has not been resolved globally.

Secondly, IDPs are faced with the fact that pensions and other social benefits can only be received at their place of registration. The Ministry of Social Policy immediately faced the question of how to make the payment of pensions throughout Ukraine as simple as possible for such people. Therefore, special government regulations were developed that displaced persons can receive social payments anywhere in Ukraine, that is, where they moved.

Over five years of war and work with temporarily displaced persons, the state was forced to review the legislative framework and adopt a number of laws, as well as regulations, to protect those who fled the war.

Thus, some laws appeared or changes were made to existing ones. For example, the 2008 bill “On protection from the influence of the global economic crisis” was amended, according to which a person with displaced status has the right to receive compensation from the state in the amount of 50% of the cost of housing under the “Affordable Housing” program.

There is another resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, according to which a person who is considered an internally displaced person has an advantage over other participants in the Affordable Housing program.

There is a law that prohibits the accrual of penalties and fines for late payments on loans in relation to persons with migrant status. For such people, state protection of property under mortgage applies, and simplified business registration is also provided.

Of course, each of these laws and regulations has its pitfalls. For example, not every displaced person will be able to go through all the circles of “bureaucratic hell” that are included in the “Affordable Housing” program. Many people try to get their allotted living space under this program, however, they give up already at the stage of collecting “a million and one certificates,” when they need to collect all kinds of certificates, extracts, resolutions, etc. But some, especially persistent people, reach the end, and there are examples of people receiving housing from the state.

Many have already been able to settle into their new place and even set up a business. And given the fact that Donbass will not be liberated any time soon, many of the displaced will never return to their former home.

The brilliant performance of 15-year-old Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk at the Australian Open has so far become the main sensation of the tournament, even though there are a lot of other surprises in the women's singles. Our young athlete has attracted attention all over the world and, naturally, I also cannot stay away.

Let us briefly recall the components of this success. Martha's fairy tale began in Australia a year ago, at the age of 14, when she won the junior Australian Open, unexpectedly defeating the first racket of the tournament, 17-year-old Swiss Masarova, in the final. According to established tradition, the winner among juniors next year provide a wild card to qualify for adult competitions. Kostyuk took full advantage of the opportunity. In the first two rounds of qualifying, Arina Rodionova and Daniela Segel were beaten, and in both matches Marta managed to return to the game after losing the first game. In the game for access to the main draw, the much more dangerous Barbora Krejcikova was defeated in the same three sets.

The main tournament began for Kostyuk with a fight against the 25th seeded Chinese woman Shuai Peng. Few people expected the defeat of an eminent rival, our girl more than twice our senior, through the same gate. But just four games given away, excellent tennis – and hello, world fame! Yes, of course, the Chinese woman’s health problems played a certain role, but she didn’t go to the match in a wheelchair! We looked forward to the second round game with cautious optimism, because Australian Olivia Rogowska, ranked in the middle of the second hundred, did not look like an impassable opponent. And even though the quality of the tennis of both tennis players turned out to be not very high, what did it matter if, after two sets, Kostyuk won and advanced all the way to the third round! Here she had to play with one of the best tennis players on the planet, compatriot Elina Svitolina. Young Martha's previous five victories and her attacking style of play led to some hotheads predicting her victory even in this match. In any case, the coefficient for Kostyuk’s victory was steadily falling before the game. But there was no super sensation. Svitolina didn’t do anything special on the court, serving consistently and carefully collecting Marta’s mistakes. 6:2, 6:2, and Elina advances to the fourth round in Melbourne for the first time in her career. However, Kostyuk became the youngest participant in the third round at a Grand Slam tournament in the last 20 years. What made such success possible?

Of course, the main reason is Martha’s enormous talent. I try to follow her game Last year, as much as possible. After all, junior tournaments often remain without broadcasts. But to form a definite opinion, what you have already seen is enough. Since everything in the world is relative, I propose to compare the current level of tennis of our young tennis player with what the first racket of Ukraine Elina Svitolina demonstrated as a junior. With one caveat: I began to seriously follow Svitolina’s play when she was 17-18 years old, so I will be comparing the play of people not her same age. This comparison will be quite justified, since the places in the ranking of today's Marta and Elina six years ago are approximately the same.

So let's start with the submission. Svitolina's serving was one of the biggest problems in her game until she was about twenty-one. Only 2-3 years ago Elina began to serve the first quite powerfully and directionally. The second serve, although gradually improving, remains rather weak, and the opponents who hit are happy to take it right through. Marta's first serve is already flying at a speed of 160-170 km/h and is aimed quite sharply. Aces are a common occurrence for her. The second serve actually surprises me, because there are not many tennis players on the adult tour who serve the second serve under 150. Everything would be fine, but the hit percentage is still a problem. Below 50% for the first serve, and a dozen to one and a half double faults per match are also the norm. However, those who have played tennis know that the serve is the most difficult technical element of the game. Therefore, it seems that improvement in the quality of putting the ball into play will come with age and constant training.

Now it’s hard to imagine that as a junior Svitolina wanted to play attacking tennis. Seventeen-year-old Elina's backhand was more stable than her forehand. The crown was a backhand blow along the line, which, however, she did not always risk using. Svitolina’s sharpness when crossing from the backhand only appeared last year in Toronto. The quality of the right hand greatly depended on its specific condition. I still don’t understand what Martha’s signature blow is. With her super-aggressive style of play, she is not afraid to attack from any position. And he can score with the help of anyone technical reception. True, you can also make mistakes – in any situation. Svitolina, although she was not a model of stability, made significantly fewer mistakes. One more point: Elina has been good at using shots with strong rotation since her junior days. Martha mainly plays flat shots. Slices, and especially half-slides, should still appear in her arsenal. They are very useful for playing on clay.

In his volleying skill, Kostyuk has an undeniable superiority even compared to today's Svitolina. Marta loves and knows how to go to the net, finishing her attacks there. Elina needs to be lured there with a roll, and the consequences can be the most unpredictable.

Why am I getting into the jungle of tennis subtleties? To prove the following thesis: fifteen-year-old Kostyuk is not inferior in level of play to seventeen-year-old Svitolina. Or maybe even a little superior. Therefore, we, the fans, have reason to hope that another top tennis player will appear in Ukraine relatively soon, because Marta is a phenomenal talent. However, great success in tennis can only be achieved by combining the following three factors.

1. Actually talent. You can’t go anywhere without him, everything is clear here.

2. Hard work. The dreams of many great talents to become outstanding players were shattered on this second point. Ask Eugenie Bouchard - she knows. And it’s better not to ask Milevsky, otherwise you may not have time to escape.

3. Determination, the importance of which is sometimes underestimated. The donkey, you know, works a lot and hard. But he still doesn’t become a horse. You need to know what you are striving for and go towards the goal, without turning back, step by step.

If on the first point Kostyuk’s advantage is beyond doubt, then on the other two points Svitolina is one of the best in modern women’s tennis. Whether Martha will be able to cope with the burden of her early fame and continue to painstakingly work on the quality of her game, time will tell. After all, she is still a child, and it is not for nothing that at one time the Tour introduced restrictions on the participation in adult tournaments of players under 18 years of age (now fifteen-year-old players are allowed to play 10 adult tournaments a year). The life story of Jennifer Capriati, who is sometimes mentioned in comments, confirms the correctness decision taken. Great responsibility falls on the shoulders of Martha Kostyuk’s parents. They need to support and guide their daughter, without slipping into authoritarianism. Raising a child is a difficult thing, but raising a child prodigy so that he does not turn into an ordinary middle-aged person is ten times more difficult.

Well, we, Ukrainian tennis fans, will continue to believe in our young star. Personally, I will express the cautious hope that Martha will provide me with many more occasions for articles in her honor with her performance. And I also hope that she won’t read this material. She doesn't need a lot of praise for now.

January 30, 2017, 14:15 Dmitry Martsenishin

14-year-old Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk sensationally won one of the four most prestigious tennis tournaments" Grand Slam" – Australian Open

Sensational victory

Marta Kostyuk became the author of one of the main sensations Open Championship Australia. The 14-year-old Ukrainian was seeded 11th at the junior competition, but despite this she was able to surpass her higher-rated and older rivals - tennis players under the age of 18 are allowed to play in this category.

The most difficult test awaited Kostyuk in the final, where she was up against the first racket of the Australian Open and the winner of another Grand Slam tournament, Roland Garros, Rebecca Masarova from Switzerland. But she couldn’t resist the Ukrainian - 7:5, 1:6, 6:4.

One step towards a record

In Melbourne, Marta Kostyuk almost became the youngest winner of the Australian Open in history. The 14-year-old Ukrainian was only five days older than Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who won the Grand Slam in 2006.

Besides Kostyuk, only one Ukrainian woman, Angelina Kalinina, won at the junior level in Australia in 2014, who in 2014 won the doubles tournament in a duet with Russian Elizaveta Kulichkova.

However, our tennis players won other junior Grand Slam tournaments. In 1991, Andrei Medvedev won Roland Garros at 16, in 2004, 17-year-old Ekaterina Bondarenko won Wimbledon, and in 2010, 15-year-old Elina Svitolina won the French Open title.

From the cradle on the court

Recently, Marta Kostyuk has progressed rapidly, and this ultimately translated into a major victory. Among other things, this was the result of cooperation with the coach of the legendary Swiss Roger Federer, who at the age of 35 became the winner of the men's Australian Open of Croatian Ivan Ljubicic in Melbourne. Marta Kostyuk emphasized that thanks to him she significantly improved the level of her game.

“I seriously improved my level of play. The most effective period was in May, when Ivan Ljubicic invited me to train in Monte Carlo for ten days. After that, I won a second category tournament, improved my serve and began to train more,” said the tennis player.

Martha is constantly coached by her mother, Talina Kostyuk (maiden name Beikoy), who also used to play tennis at high level. The girl’s father, Oleg Kostyuk, is also involved in tennis and at one time was the technical director of the Antey Cup junior tournament.

It was on the courts of the Antey club that Marta Kostyuk, by her own definition, began to play “from the cradle,” one of the first coaches was her uncle Taras Beiko, also a former professional tennis player who, after finishing his career, works with children.

Violent Diaspora

Marta Kostyuk with Australian fans

In Australia, Martha Kostyuk was supported not only by her mother. Representatives of the local Ukrainian diaspora frantically supported her, who throughout the tournament came to the stands in Melbourne with yellow and blue flags.

"I'm proud of these guys who came to my match. One day between games I was at one of their houses. They threw a real party in my honor. It's wonderful when you come to another country and there are Ukrainians there. You feel it. I’m very proud of this,” Kostyuk said after the final.

Marta Kostyuk and Roger Federer

Roger Federer personally congratulated the Ukrainian, and the tennis player had incredible emotions from communicating with him. “Before the tournament, I dreamed of seeing Roger Federer. And finally I met him. He congratulated me on my victory. I took a photo with him, I still can’t calm down,” the girl admitted.

Significant achievements

Marta Kostyuk, already at her young age, is almost entirely focused on her tennis career, which requires constant travel and complete concentration on the sport. That's why the girl studies at special school. “I just do my homework at home and take tests in every subject twice a year,” Kostyuk said.

The Ukrainian woman made everyone talk about herself tennis specialists at the age of 13, when she won more than ten matches in a row in the United States in a series of prestigious junior tournaments, the Eddie Herr International Junior Orange Bowl. After that, she distinguished herself at the Les Petits As competitions in France, simultaneously winning in doubles and singles. Thanks to this, the Ukrainian topped the European ranking of tennis players under 14 years of age.

In addition, Kostyuk, together with Daria Snigur and Daria Lopatetskaya, achieved great success as part of the Ukrainian junior team (under 14 years old), with which they won the World Championship last year, as well as the Winter and Summer European Cups.

Applause from deputies

Marta Kostyuk is celebrated not only on tennis courts. Last year, she spoke in the Verkhovna Rada at parliamentary hearings on the development of sports in Ukraine and received applause from the session hall several times.

“Unfortunately, the state is not doing enough to support not only tennis, but also other sports. I understand well that today there is no money in the budget, there is a war in Donbass and there is an economic crisis in the country, but I would like to appeal to all deputies and politicians : you are smart adults, can’t you pass a law that will make it profitable for a businessman to help sports? I’m not a politician, but I’m sure: if the state guarantees a reduction in taxes in exchange for the business giving money to a specific athlete or federation, then he will agree to it,” said the girl, whose speech was admired on social networks last year.

Therefore, Marta Kostyuk only continued to surprise her fans - this time with a brilliant victory on the court.

On January 17, 15-year-old tennis player from Ukraine Marta Kostyuk defeated Australian Olivia Rogovskaya in the second round of the Australian Open and reached the 1/16 finals. The Ukrainian broke two records at once: she became the youngest participant in the third round of the Australian Open since 1996, and also the youngest participant in the third round of a Grand Slam tournament since 1997.

"She was just on fire on the court. Marta will be a great player. I didn't feel like she was only 15 years old. She felt free on the court and, as I said, she will grow into a very dangerous tennis player," Olivia Rogowska said in a post-match interview at Arena Margaret Court.

“I’m happy, just happy. Today on the court I felt very bad, it was hot, but I was able to get through it. It seems like every year I set some kind of record or repeat it, so I’m normal about it,” noted the Ukrainian.

Beginning of career and first victories

Marta was born in 2002 in sports family: Her father is a former basketball player and technical director of a junior tennis tournament“Antey Cup” Oleg Kostyuk, mother Talina Kostyuk (maiden name Beiko) is a former professional tennis player. Marta started playing tennis at the age of five, her first coach was her uncle Taras Beiko, the USSR tennis champion in doubles and the champion of Ukraine in singles (Marta is now coached by Ivan Ljubicic, a former Croatian tennis player, one of whose wards is also Roger Federer).

As a child, Marta combined tennis lessons with acrobatics: at the age of 11 she became a master of sports in this discipline. Celebrating her victory at one of the ITF tournaments, she showed off her acrobatic skills.

Kostyuk’s first success was winning the Petits As tournament in 2016, which is called the unofficial world championship among tennis players aged 12-14 years. After this, the tennis player was invited to the Verkhovna Rada for parliamentary hearings “on the development of physical education and sports in conditions of decentralization.” From the podium, 13-year-old Kostyuk called on deputies to “pass a law that will make it profitable for a businessman to help sports.”

VIDEO

Video: Dmitry Shkurgan / YouTube

In January 2017, Kostyuk won the Australian Open among juniors: in the final, the Ukrainian defeated the first racket of the junior ranking, Rebeka Masarova from Switzerland (7:5, 1:6, 6:4). "First of all, glory to Ukraine!" - she said at the beginning of her speech after presenting the cup.

VIDEO

Video: Ukrainian Outpost Sports / YouTube

In May 2017, she became the youngest Ukrainian to win a professional singles tournament among adults: Kostyuk won the ITF competition in Hungary without losing a single set during the entire tournament.

In July 2017, Kostyuk won gold medal at the European Junior Championships in doubles and silver in singles. In September, she won another junior Grand Slam tournament - the US Open in doubles, where her partner was Serbian Olga Danilovic. In October, the Ukrainian won the final junior tournament of the year, ITF Junior Masters in China.

“Today my mother and I discussed this issue, laughed a little and decided to call my style “dominate, conquer, humiliate.” It’s just a joke, but basically, even if I play defense, I try to put the game under my control and then win" - told Kostyuk for journalists.

"I don't want to take tennis too close"

Before the start of the Australian Open, Kostyuk earned about $6.7 thousand in prize money in her career. The current performance in Melbourne has already provided her with prize money of at least $113.5 thousand (excluding taxes). If before the start of the Australian Open she was ranked 521st in the WTA rankings, then after the end of the tournament Kostyuk is guaranteed to be in the top 250.

However, despite serious progress in her career, the Ukrainian does not consider tennis the main activity in her life.

“I’ve heard a lot of players (maybe not at the top level) say: “Tennis is everything to me, tennis is my life.” I don’t want to take it that way because if I lose or something happens, it will ruin me. my life. When I retire, I want to be good at other things, not just tennis. I know a lot of players who retired and then came back because they had nothing better to do outside of tennis. I don't want to be that person that’s why I don’t take tennis so closely,” Kostyuk said in an interview with WTA Insider.

Kostyuk is currently in 11th grade. Kyiv school externs. In a commentary to “Today,” she said that she does not attend school, but works with a tutor and passes two tests in each subject. test papers in year. Among her favorite subjects she named geometry, English language and history.

Meeting with Svitolina

In the next round of the Australian Open, Kostyuk will meet with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who is currently ranked fourth in the WTA world rankings. The match will begin on the night of January 19, at 2.00 Kyiv time. Bookmakers consider Svitolina the undisputed favorite: William Hill accepts bets on her victory with odds of 1.05, and on Kostyuk’s success with odds of 10.00.

Having learned the name of her next opponent, Svitolina admitted that she had never heard of Kostyuk before the start of this tournament. “It will be very interesting and I hope that I will be ready for this match. It’s not every day that I play with someone from my country. It will be especially interesting for the Ukrainian fans to watch it, I think. I didn’t know about her before, I looked a little at her game in the first round. You know, she has nothing to lose, so she goes all in - a little like a headless chicken", - the official website of the Australian Open quotes Svitolina as saying.

"I'll just enjoy playing on the big court again. I'll try to show my best tennis", Kostyuk promised.

Elina Svitolina is Kostyuk’s next opponent. Photo: EPA

"The Future of Tennis"

Kostyuk’s performance at the Australian Open attracted the attention of dozens of world media outlets.

"Teen sensation Marta Kostyuk is being hailed as the future of tennis after becoming the youngest Australian Open second-round winner since Martina Hingis in 1996," Arab News writes.

"She's not old enough to drive in most countries, let alone drink alcohol or vote. But the calm and confident teenager was impressive in her match win over Olivia Rogowska and now seems to have the world at her feet," she writes. New Zealand edition of Newshub.

Now Marta Kostyuk is only 521st racket in the world. But already on January 28, when the Australian Open 2018 ends, a place in the top 250 tennis players in the world awaits her. And a considerable monetary reward. Moreover, she is only 15 years old. But she already has a victory behind her at the Australian Open in 2017, a junior year. And in 2018, she already created a new sensation on the courts of Melbourne, becoming the youngest participant in the main draw of the tournament.

From a sports family

Marta Kostyuk was born on June 28, 2002 into a sports family in Kyiv. Her mother Tallinna Kostyuk (maiden name Beiko) also played tennis professionally at one time. The girl’s father, Oleg Kostyuk, was once the technical director of the Antey Cup junior tournament.

However, her parents saw a future in tennis in her older sister Maria. Marta did acrobatics. Tennis was in second place.

“When Marty was five years old, she came to me for training, saw that it was good with her mother, she didn’t need to sit with a nanny at home or in the garden, and wanted to stay. Then we decided to create a group for children, and she started training. Marta studied together with everyone else, we trained three times a week, and she also did acrobatics every day,” says Tallinna Kostyuk, who became the tennis player’s coach.

In addition, my mother’s brother Taras Beiko, who was the USSR champion in doubles and the first champion of independent Ukraine in singles, also trained with the girl.

The combination of acrobatics and tennis continued until Marty was 11 years old. Then she was already completely focused on tennis.

External training

It is difficult to combine professional sports with schooling. Until the 8th grade, Marta studied at one of the schools in Kyiv, but from the 9th grade she switched to external studies. All due to an increase in the number of trainings, including abroad, and participation in international competitions.

"I'm just doing homework at home and take tests in each subject twice a year,” said Marta Kostyuk.

Coach of Martha Kostyuk and Roger Federer

The transfer to external studies was also facilitated by the fact that the mother decided to take Marta away from Kyiv due to too close media attention to her daughter after her first victories. Fearing that her daughter would be too often distracted by sports-related things, Tallinna Beiko chose to work with Marta abroad.

And Marta herself also admits that she is afraid to come to Kyiv.

“Immediately everything is fine, everyone loves you, you don’t want to train. That’s why I try to go straight to Cannes to the tennis academy where I train,” the girl admitted.

In Cannes, she is coached by the Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who was also recently a top tennis player and was even among the top three in the ATP rankings. Besides Marta, he also coaches Swiss tennis player Roger Federer. It was after she began collaborating with the new coach that Marta significantly improved her game, which resulted in victories at tournaments.

“I seriously improved my level of play. The effective period was in May, when Ivan Ljubicic invited me to train in Monte Carlo for ten days. After that, I won a second category tournament, improved my serve and started training more,” said the tennis player.

Sports successes of Marta Kostyuk

In the summer of 2013, at the TO tournament among girls under 12 years old, Marta became the champion both in singles and in pairs with Anna Molchanova. A year later, Kostyuk, as part of the Ukrainian national team, won the Europe Nations Challenge, the continental championship among 12-year-olds.

In 2016, Marta Kostyuk, as part of the Ukrainian women's national team under the age of 14, together with Daria Snigur and Daria Lopatetskaya, became the winner of the World Championship in her age category.

That same year, Kostyuk went on a streak of 13 victories in a row, thanks to which she received two junior titles and finished the year in the top three in the world rankings among 14-year-olds.

But Marta Kostyuk received the greatest success in her still rather short career in 2017. At her debut Australian Open among juniors, Marta became the champion. The most difficult test awaited Kostyuk in the final, where she was up against the first racket of the Australian Open and the winner of another Grand Slam tournament, Roland Garros, Rebecca Masarova from Switzerland, who is three years older than Marta. Marta lost to this tennis player almost without a chance in the summer of 2016 in the final of the German Open. But this time she couldn’t resist the Ukrainian - 7:5, 1:6, 6:4.

Besides Kostyuk, only one Ukrainian won at the junior level in Australia in 2014 - Angelina Kalinina, who in 2014 won the doubles tournament in a duet with Russian Elizaveta Kulichkova.

Success at the Australian Open was followed by triumphs at the US Open in doubles and the Junior Finals, as well as the first trophy at the adult level - a tournament with prize fund 25 thousand dollars in the Hungarian city of Dunakeszi.

Girl's interests

Like every teenager, Marta Kostyuk’s hobbies include shopping. After winning the junior Australian Open, she even complained that during the time she competed, she was never able to visit any of the shopping centers in Melbourne.

Speech in the Rada

In March 2016, 13-year-old Marta Kostyuk spoke at parliamentary hearings in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Marta came to the walls of parliament on the initiative of the people's deputy from the Radical Party, the first world swimming champion in the independent history of Ukraine, Denis Silantiev.

In a three-minute speech, Kostyuk tried to explain to the people’s representatives that all victories in Ukrainian sports are possible not thanks to, but in spite of material realities. In her speech, she called on deputies to pass laws and create conditions for entrepreneurs so that they could finance talented athletes in Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, the state is not doing enough to support not only tennis, but also other sports. I understand well that today there is no money in the budget, there is a war in Donbass and there is an economic crisis in the country, but I would like to appeal to all deputies and politicians : you are smart adults, can’t you pass a law that will make it profitable for a businessman to help sports? I’m not a politician, but I’m sure: if the state guarantees a reduction in taxes in exchange for the business giving funds to a specific athlete or federation, then he will agree to it,” said the girl from the rostrum of the Verkhovna Rada.

Martha knows what she's talking about. At the beginning of her career, she went to competitions exclusively with the money of one of her mother’s former students, who agreed to finance the first international starts of a talented girl, not expecting that his investment would be returned. Actually, thanks to that person, Martha was able to compete for the first two years, and then gradually began to earn money herself. But this was not the money that would allow us to function comfortably. After her daughter’s victory at the junior Australian Open, Talina Beiko admitted that a year before the situation looked critical.