Ukrainian French Open player learned about missile strike right before match

Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleShe found out before the match that a missile almost hit her parents' home in Ukraine (Getty Images)Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk secured a victory in her opening-round match at the French Open, hours after a missile strike occurred just 100 metres from her parents' home in Kyiv.The 23-year-old became emotional during her on-court interview, tearfully describing the morning as "very difficult" and dedicating her thoughts and heart to the people of Ukraine. She said she received a message at 8 a.m. and could not stop thinking what could have happened. “I felt sick,” she said. “If it was 100 meters closer, I probably wouldn’t have a mom and a sister today.”The missile strike near Kostyuk's family home was part of a wider wave of Russian attacks overnight that resulted in four fatalities in Kyiv and at least 83 injuries across Ukraine.Kostyuk, the 15th seed, defeated Russian-born Oksana Selekhmeteva, who now represents Spain, but notably did not shake her opponent's hand, maintaining a stance adopted by Ukrainian players against Russian or Belarusian competitors.Currently in strong form, having recently won the Madrid Open and Rouen Open, Kostyuk described the match as "one of the most difficult" of her career and is set to face Katie Volynets of the USA in the second round.In fullMarta Kostyuk wins ‘one of the most difficult matches’ after missile strike near parents’ homeThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

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