Marta Kostyuk beats Jasmine Paolini, powers into Wimbledon semifinals

Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine dances to celebrate her victory against Jasmine Paolini of Italy in their quarter-final women’s singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

LONDON–Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk reached her second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal with a dominant last-eight victory over former finalist Jasmine Paolini at Wimbledon on Wednesday.

The 12th seed raced to a 6-3, 6-2 victory after just 69 minutes on Centre Court and will face Czech ninth seed Linda Noskova for a place in her first major final.

Article continues after this advertisement

“First time playing on this unbelievable court, it’s a dream come true,” said the 24-year-old.

FEATURED STORIES

SPORTS

SPORTS

SPORTS

“I was on this court as a spectator once nine years ago watching Roger (Federer) and to be back here as a player is amazing. I walked past the ‘wall of honour’, stood beside it and took a moment.”

Kostyuk has only lost one of her last 22 matches, her semi-final defeat by eventual champion Mirra Andreeva at the French Open last month.

She is set to climb into the world’s top 10 next week for the first time in her career, having been just 28th in the rankings as recently as April.

Article continues after this advertisement

Paolini could not reproduce the form she showed in her fourth-round win over Alexandra Eala, losing in the last eight of a Slam for the first time.

The Italian was playing in her first major quarter-final since reaching the Wimbledon final in 2024, when she was also the French Open runner-up.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.