Many of the top seeds at Roland Garros have already been eliminated. Big names such as Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic could be eliminated from the tournament early, paving the way for other top-10 seeds to compete.
But if Tuesday is any indication, that could also be a tough task, as Elina Svitolina became the latest top-10 seed to be eliminated from the tournament.
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Seventh-seeded Svitolina failed to advance after defeating No. 15 Marta Kostyuk in Tuesday’s quarterfinals. After dropping the first set, Svitolina was able to recover enough to take the match to a third set, but her comeback stopped there. Kostyuk advanced and won the match 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.
After the win, Kostyuk briefly became overcome with emotion on court before greeting Svitolina online.
Even as Kostyuk wiped tears from his eyes during an on-court interview after the game, that feeling remained with him.
Before 2026, the French Open was not kind to Kostyuk. Entering Tuesday, she had won just 40 percent of her matches at Roland Garros, her worst performance at a Grand Slam tournament. In his past six tournament appearances, Kostyuk has lost in the first round four times. Her best performance at Roland Garros was back in 2021 when she reached the fourth round. She has already surpassed that record against Svitolina on Tuesday.
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With the win, Kostyuk defeated another top-10 seed on Thursday and will face No. 8 Mila Andreeva in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Svitolina failed to reach the quarterfinals of the French Open for the sixth time in her career. Although she performed well in tournaments, she never reached the semi-finals.
Svitolina’s absence leaves only two of the top 10 seeds on the women’s team still active at the 2026 French Open. Top seed Aryna Sabalenka has looked dominant so far, having yet to drop a set in this tournament. Andreeva hasn’t had a great run, dropping only one set en route to the semifinals.
