Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk has reached the round of 32 at Roland-Garros after navigating personal distress and technical changes alongside her coach, Sandra Zaniewska.
The number 15 seed holds a perfect 13-0 record on clay this season, securing titles in Rouen and Madrid.
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Kostyuk's tournament opener began under heavy emotional strain when she received news of a missile strike near her family home in Kyiv.
Zaniewska focused on providing immediate emotional support and easing the player's tension during the warm-up session.
"I always say that I'm not living through this. So I'm not here to give advice or to even relate, and I cannot relate.
So I assume that I don't understand.
I can only be there and tell her that I support her and that's it," said Zaniewska to rolandgarros.
com.
Zaniewska adjusted her coaching approach to accommodate the difficult circumstances before the match started. "I said, 'Look, I'm here', that's it.
And of course, it was in her head and I was trying to make her laugh a little bit to make it a little bit lighter," she added.
The Polish coach used a Ukrainian-colored mascot and her matching tennis shoes to distract the athlete.
"Then I saw that my tennis shoes were in Ukrainian colours as well.
So I took them off, I put this mascot in, Marta was laughing, took some pictures and I tried to just make it a little bit lighter," added the coach.
