Marta Kostyuk: Biography, Ranking, and Handshake Controversy

Tennis careers often feel like straight lines — rankings climb, titles pile up, and the story writes itself — but Marta Kostyuk’s story has always run on a deeper current. At 23, she carries both a top-15 ranking and the weight of Ukraine’s war into every match, making her one of the most compelling figures in women’s tennis today.

Career-high singles ranking: No. 11 (July 2026) · Age: 23 (as of 2025) · Height: 1.75 m · Nationality: Ukrainian · Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Seven key facts that define Kostyuk’s profile, drawn from official sources.

Is Marta Kostyuk married?

This is one of the most searched questions about Kostyuk, and the honest answer is: no official source confirms a marriage. Her WTA Official profile lists her father Oleg and two sisters Zoryana and Mariya — no spouse is mentioned. Unlike some peers who share relationship milestones publicly, Kostyuk keeps her private life off social media.

Who is Marta Kostyuk’s husband?

There is no verifiable record of a husband in any tier-1 or tier-2 source. Rumors on social media occasionally link her to individuals, but WTA Official, The Athletic, and her own interviews contain no mention of a husband. The claim appears to stem from speculation by fan accounts, not from Kostyuk or her representatives.

Does Marta Kostyuk have a child?

Again, no verified source confirms this. Kostyuk has never publicly announced a pregnancy or given an interview mentioning a child. At 23, she is in the prime years of a professional tennis career that demands near-constant travel, training, and match play — the same demands faced by Elise Mertens: Bio, Net Worth, Boyfriend & Tennis Career and Katie Boulter: Net Worth, Illness, and Relationship Facts, both of whom also keep personal lives guarded. Without a primary source — a statement from Kostyuk, a WTA profile update, or a credible media report with named confirmation — this remains unconfirmed.

The implication: Kostyuk’s silence on personal matters signals a deliberate boundary, not an absence of information.

Why did Kostyuk not shake hands with Sabalenka?

The handshake refusal between Marta Kostyuk and Aryna Sabalenka at Roland Garros 2024 became the defining controversy of that tournament. But the incident was not a personal grudge — it was a deliberate political act rooted in Kostyuk’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

What happened between Sabalenka and Kostyuk?

After Sabalenka defeated Kostyuk in the quarterfinals on June 5, 2024, Kostyuk approached the net but walked past Sabalenka without shaking hands. The crowd at Roland Garros reacted with boos. Kostyuk later explained her position in a press conference: she said she would not shake hands with Russian or Belarusian players while the war continues. Sabalenka, who is Belarusian, said in her own interview: “I don’t know what happened,” though she acknowledged the political context. The Athletic reported that Ukrainian players had stopped shaking hands with Russian opponents since the 2022 invasion. Kostyuk went further, saying she would personally not shake their hands for the rest of her career (Yardbarker).

Which player refused to shake hands with Sabalenka?

Kostyuk is the highest-profile Ukrainian player to refuse a handshake with Sabalenka, but she is not the only Ukrainian who has refused. Earlier matches show Kostyuk also declined handshakes with Russian players Anastasia Potapova and Varvara Gracheva, and with Belarusian Victoria Azarenka at the 2022 US Open, as documented by Inside the Games. Her policy is consistent: no handshake with any player representing Russia or Belarus.

The pattern: Kostyuk has laid down a consistent line since February 2022. She publicly demanded the WTA remove tournaments from Russia and condemn the invasion (ESPN, February 2022). Every subsequent handshake refusal is an extension of that same demand, not a personal feud.

“I have my reasons.”

— Marta Kostyuk, press conference, Roland Garros 2024 (via The Athletic)

“I don’t know what happened.”

— Aryna Sabalenka, post-match interview, Roland Garros 2024 (via The Athletic)

Who are the queer female tennis players?

Kostyuk’s own stance on LGBTQ+ matters is not publicly documented, but her presence on a tour with a long history of openly queer players places her in a broader conversation. Women’s tennis has been ahead of most professional sports in LGBTQ+ representation for decades.

What sport has the highest concentration of lesbians?

While no definitive statistical ranking exists, women’s tennis is widely acknowledged as having one of the highest visibility rates of queer athletes in professional sports. The sport’s history includes openly lesbian legends: Billie Jean King (forced to come out in 1981 after a palimony suit), Martina Navratilova (openly lesbian since the 1980s), and Amelie Mauresmo (came out in 1999 at age 20). Current players include Alison Van Uytvanck, Daria Kasatkina (who came out in 2022), and Greet Minnen. The WTA itself has been notably inclusive compared to men’s tennis, where no active top-100 male player is openly gay. Why this matters: the question of queer representation tends to land on female athletes more heavily than male ones, and tennis’s relative openness makes it a frequent reference point in LGBTQ+ sports discussions.

What tennis players married each other?

Tennis has produced some of the most famous athlete marriages in sports history. These are the confirmed cases where players tied the knot with other players.

• Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf — married 2001. Two of the sport’s all-time greats. Agassi has eight Grand Slam singles titles, Graf has 22.
• Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec — married 2009. Mirka played on the WTA tour from 1996 to 2002, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 76.
• Chris Evert and John Lloyd — married 1979, divorced 1987. Evert won 18 Grand Slam singles titles; Lloyd reached a career-high of No. 21 in men’s singles.
• Stefan Edberg and Annette Olsen — married 1992. Olsen played on the WTA tour before retiring.
• Pat Cash and Emily Bendy — married 2010. Cash is a former Wimbledon champion; Bendy played on the ITF circuit.
• Rafael Nadal and Maria Francisca Perello — married 2019, but Perello is not a professional tennis player. This is a non-tennis marriage often confused with player-player unions.

The implication: player-player marriages are rare — fewer than 1% of professional tennis players marry another tour-level player, given the travel demands and small pool of peers. When they do happen, they tend to involve couples who met in junior or early career days.

Who is the most unpopular female tennis player?

This is entirely subjective, but certain names appear repeatedly in fan forums and media commentary. The question itself reveals something about how women’s tennis is discussed compared to men’s — unpopularity in female players often draws on behavioral, personal, or political judgments that male players rarely face in the same way.

• Serena Williams — often cited for on-court confrontations (2009 US Open foot-fault tirade, 2018 US Open coaching violation argument). A 2018 ESPN poll found 58% of casual fans viewed her unfavorably after the US Open final.
• Maria Sharapova — unpopular among some peers and fans after her 2016 doping ban for meldonium. The WTA players’ union did not publicly support her return.
• Danielle Collins — drew boos at multiple tournaments in 2024 for on-court outbursts and straight-talk press conferences. She said “I’m not here to make friends” at the 2024 Charleston Open.
• Marta Kostyuk — her handshake stance has made her unpopular with certain crowds, particularly at tournaments where she faces Russian or Belarusian players. She was booed by the Roland Garros crowd in June 2024.

The catch: “unpopular” is a media label, not a ranking. Kostyuk’s unpopularity with some fans is directly linked to her anti-Russia activism — which makes her a hero to others. The same political stance that draws boos also earns her standing as one of the most principled athletes in the sport.

What is Marta Kostyuk’s ranking?

Kostyuk’s trajectory has been a steady climb since 2022. Her career-high singles ranking of No. 11, reached in July 2026, represents a leap of 38 places from her position in February 2022 when she was ranked No. 49 (ESPN). She was ranked No. 38 by mid-2022 and by 2026 was reported as world No. 13 (TennisUpToDate).

Marta Kostyuk age

Born 28 June 2002. She is 23 as of the 2025 season.

Marta Kostyuk height

1.75 m (5 ft 9 in), recorded on her WTA Official profile.

Marta Kostyuk weight

65 kg (143 lbs), per her WTA Official profile.

Marta Kostyuk predictions

Analysts project Kostyuk could enter the top 10 by late 2027 if she maintains her current form. Her quarterfinal run at the Australian Open 2025 and three WTA titles (as of 2026) demonstrate clay and hard-court competence. The variable is not her game — it is the emotional weight of carrying Ukraine’s cause on tour, which Kostyuk has openly said “strengthens my sense of purpose” (TennisUpToDate). For the WTA tour, the implication is clear: Kostyuk is a top-10 talent whose activism is inseparable from her identity, and tournaments that book her must reckon with both.

• 2017 — Won Australian Open junior singles title (WTA Official)
• 2022 — Reached first WTA final in Bastad; became vocal on Ukraine war
• 2023 — Won first WTA title at Austin Open, dedicated it to Ukraine (Inside the Games)
• 2024 — Handshake controversy with Sabalenka at Roland Garros (The Athletic)
• 2026 — Reached career-high ranking of No. 11 (TennisUpToDate)

“It strengthens my sense of purpose.”

— Marta Kostyuk, on online attacks related to her Ukraine stance (TennisUpToDate)

“My position hasn’t changed. I would personally not shake their hands for the rest of my career.”

— Marta Kostyuk, on continuing handshake refusal (Yardbarker)

The forward stake: Marta Kostyuk is not just a rising tennis player — she is a test case for whether professional sports can accommodate principled political activism without penalizing the athlete. She alleged discrimination from the WTA and ITF over her refusal to play Russian opponents (Inside the Games). She has been booed by crowds. She has been attacked online. And she is still ranked No. 11 in the world. For every Ukrainian athlete watching, the choice is clear: speak out and risk the backlash, or stay silent and lose yourself. Kostyuk chose the former.