When a player’s form suddenly spikes, they’re asked the inevitable question: What changed? Or what’s clicking?
For Marta Kostyuk, everything seems to be clicking. The Ukrainian star beat Katie Volynets in the second round at Roland Garros on Wednesday, extending her winning streak to 14 matches.
It makes her one of the form players in the women’s draw, having entered the event after claiming back-to-back titles in Rouen and Madrid. She was the only woman in the field to win multiple claycourt trophies leading in.
She has not tasted defeat since Miami, winning 21 of her past 23 sets.
Kostyuk’s talent has always been undeniable. A gifted shotmaker, and extremely athletic, those assets saw her claim the AO 2017 junior title at just 14 and begin thriving at professional level as early as 15.
Those skills are still there in abundance. It’s just that now they’re coupled with an improved mindset.
“I don't think about my past results at all,” the 23-year-old revealed.
“Like, whenever someone is asking me streak or something, I don't even think about it. Of course it helps sometimes, like, today [against Volynets] when I lost first set, I was like, ‘yeah, you can do it, you can pull it off. It's OK. You have done it before many times’.
“So that helps. [But] it doesn't necessarily, like, rule my game.”
Kostyuk’s confidence is soaring, evidenced by the 60 winners – almost three times as many as Volynets – she unfurled against the American.
Keeping her mind rooted in the present is one thing, but maybe that doesn’t go all the way to explaining just how well she’s playing right now.
Before this double-digit winning streak, her previous best unbeaten run was seven matches, back in 2020, the bulk of which came at ITF level.
Her next best tour-level streak were the five consecutive matches she won en route to the WTA Austin title in 2023.
That was her only previous tour-level title, making her back-to-back efforts in Rouen and Madrid all the more notable. Plus, she also reached the 2026 Brisbane International final, making this the first time she’s reached three WTA finals in one season.
The mental gains Kostyuk has made, contributing to her career-best form and recent top-15 debut, come from specific “mental economy training” she has embraced since the Australian Open.
“I don't know exactly what has changed, like, because I didn't do also that much. But I think the biggest difference that I see is that I care way less on the court, and I don't spend too much of my brain energy on things. I just let it go faster,” she explained.
“And I know the feeling that I have when I practice this thing, when I don't use my brain energy, and I'm trying to find that feeling. So that helps me to not burn out, or to be exhausted after long matches.
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“That was very difficult part for me, because I felt like everything is very important and everything costs a lot. For sure that changed, and this is what helped me to not be tired after the weeks.
“Like, it took me just a few days to recover from Madrid. When before, even if we take Brisbane [as an example], I didn't have enough time to recover from Melbourne. I was really, really tired. I mean, Brisbane was really good week, but it just cost me a lot of energy.
“I think that changed the most, but I was working on that part for a long time, as well. It's just that I work it in different ways.
“My biggest problem before was that mentally it was difficult for me to sustain the level. Right now it's less of an issue, for sure.”
Kostyuk will hope to sustain that level into her third-round match against Viktorija Golubic, which if she wins would see her equal her best result at Roland Garros.
There, a potential match-up with four-time French champion Iga Swiatek looms.
Kostyuk also forms part of an inspirational wave of Ukrainian success at this year’s event, joining countrywomen Elina Svitolina and Yuliia Starodubtseva in the last 32.
Rome champion Svitolina extended her own winning streak to eight matches by beating Kaitlin Quevedo, while Charleston finalist Starodubtseva stunned No.2 seed and reigning AO champion Elena Rybakina in three.
Oleksandra Oliynykova also remains in the tournament, hoping to join her compatriots in round three when she takes on Australia’s breakout star Kimberly Birrell.
All of them are playing for something bigger, given the ongoing war in their homeland.
And it’s something driving Kostyuk to keep winning.
“I'm still trying to do things that I can do and to what I can to influence, and I use my platform, I use my speeches or whenever I have a moment to remind of the horror of everyday lives of people,” she said.
“I do my job. I think this is what I am trying to focus the most.”