"I had to get through depression" - Marta Kostyuk and the rocky way back
Marta Kostyuk had to admit defeat to Veronika Kudermetova in the semifinals of the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi, but after an extremely difficult time she is now looking positively into the future.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Jan 13, 2021, 12:47 am
It was almost exactly three years ago when Marta Kostyuk's star seemed to really rise: At the Australian Open 2018, the Ukrainian sensationally played her way up to the third round and only a few weeks later she reached the top 200 in the world rankings for the first time - and with just 15 years!
The successful run in Melbourne wasn't a real blessing, however, as Kostyuk explained to WTA Insider on the sidelines of the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi: "I clung to the Australian Open for so long in my life. It was then Highlight of my career. It was such a big deal and I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to go back to the feeling of hitting the ball at the Australian Open. "
Kostyuk fell into a deep hole
Shortly before the start of the third round match against Elina Svitolina, she was thinking how she should defend this result in the coming year, said Kostyuk: "I spent the whole of 2018 thinking about how I could keep these points." She was glad that she had this experience, even though the time was extremely challenging.
"It was a very hard time in my life. I was at my lowest point. I had to go through depression but never talked about it. I tried to be very inconspicuous when I was having problems. That time was very challenging. There were many Things off the field. It just fell apart, "said Kostyuk, recalling the time after the Australian Open.
18th birthday as a turning point
In the meantime, however, she has worked her way out of the hole, said the Ukrainian. Her 18th birthday in June of last year played a very decisive role: "Since then I have been able to play as many tournaments as I want. I now have no limits in my head and I don't think that I can only play two events and have to plan my year. "
This newfound freedom had already paid off at the US Open 2020 when Kostyuk reached the third round. For this year the world rankings have 99. ambitious goals: "I want to finish the season in the top 50." The female junior winner of the Australian Open 2017 was able to take the first step in the right direction thanks to the semi-finals in Abu Dhabi .