New Delhi, May 24 -- Hours before Marta Kostyuk started her French Open 2026 women's singles campaign, a missile strike nearly 100 metres away from her parents home has left the Ukrainian tennis star mentally shaken. Yet the no.15 dished out a splendid 6-2, 6-3 win over Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva to advance into the second round.

Russia launched fresh attacks on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, leaving four dead and nearly 100 people injured overnight. Kostyuk received a message about the attack at 8 AM local time an couldn't stop thinking what could have happened if the missile fell a bit closer to the house.

Holding her tears back, Kostyuk admitted it was the most difficult matches of her career. "I think it was one of the most difficult...