Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: Teenie-Alarm in Stuttgart: 15-year-old Kostyuk causes a sensation

A qualifier with star potential rocks Stuttgart: Marta Kostyuk won her first match ever at a WTA tournament by beating wildcard owner Antonia Lottner 6-4, 6-1 and hinted at her great potential. 15-year-old Kostyuk, who once dreamed of marrying Novak Djokovic, does not want to be discouraged by the hymns of praise. In the round of 16, she will face Caroline Garcia (France/No. 6).

By Ulrike Weinrich in Stuttgart

The press conference was later than expected. Marta Kostyuk had to go to the doping test after her very special premiere. “That was more difficult than the match,” she joked about an hour and a half after the match was over – and giggled. Just like girls her age do. However, the blonde with star potential was already aware of the significance of their entry to the last sixteen at this point in time.

Kostyuk is the youngest player at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix since Martina Hingis won a main round match in 1994. On her way through the media centre, the Ukrainian constantly looked at her smartphone and checked the congratulations arriving there at regular intervals. Again and again a smile scurried across her face. A teenie in the seventh tennis heaven!

And yet the 158th World Rankings seemed anything but euphoric. Happy yes, but also somehow equipped with a certain and astonishing maturity. “I’m not super surprised now, I work hard for such victories,” Kostyuk said confidently, “I know that I can play at such a level.

And the dazzling English-speaking power player with the tough baseline shots meant not only the game against Lottner, but also the final round of qualification, in which she eliminated the top seeded Alizé Cornet in three sets. After all, the 13-year-old Frenchwoman is ranked 35th in the WTA ranking. It was again one of these generation duels that Kostyuk could decide for himself.

But those who saw Kostyuk at the Australian Open in January are no longer surprised by the steep rise of the election-Zagreb native, who is only allowed to play a total of twelve tournaments at the highest level (i.e. WTA and Grand Slam events) per year due to her age. In the new year of life there are already 16 tournaments.

In Melbourne, she was the youngest player in 22 years to reach the third round. What was connected with a rain of money (113,647 US dollars) for the 15-year-old. To put it in context: In the first two weeks of the season she, then number 518 in the world, earned just 228 US dollars (!!!!).

Her triumph at the Australian Open 2017 junior women’s tournament earned her wild card for this year’s Happy Slam qualifying tournament. Also Down Under Kostyuk, who likes to search for the way to the net and reminds a little of Maria Sharapova from the outside, had to declare her love-hate for tennis again and again. “It’s only beginning to give me real pleasure. I am a perfectionist, and it is naturally difficult to be satisfied in this sport,” explained the eloquent super talent.

She gave up dancing at the age of eleven, “because I had to pay far too much attention to my weight. That stressed me out.” Honest words from a young person, who in many respects ticks like his peers. She loves WhatsApp, likes Italian food and has mostly painted her nails in flashy colours. If it weren’t for her great talent for handling felt ball and racket…

When it comes to glamour, Kostyuk doesn’t have to hide from the competition anyway. Her manager is Ivan Ljubicic, the Croatian coach of Grand Slam record champion Roger Federer. And the maestro himself is therefore increasingly inquiring about the development of Kostyuk. “Roger asks Ivan after my games how it went. That’s great to know,” said the hairdresser with the braided plait recently. So far she has only chatted “twice briefly” with Federer. The sequel will follow, I bet!!!

But the youngster has already put an end to another dream. “I wanted to marry Novak Djokovic. And I think he knew that because it was in the Serbian newspapers,” she revealed – a little embarrassed. Meanwhile her heart belongs to tennis. At least until the lively right-hander wants to pepper the racquet back into the corner after a defeat.

She is then braked by her mother, who also looks after Kostyuk in Stuttgart. Talina Beiko was a professional herself and made it to position 391 in the WTA ranking (1994). However, she is reluctant to coach: “At Marta’s age you can’t stand criticism from your mother. I want to push her. But first and foremost, I want to be a mother and give love.”

Despite the excellent forecasts of many experts, Kostyuk himself does not want to put too much pressure on himself. “I’m not saying,’I want to be number one in the world in three years’. Because if I can’t, it hurts,” she explained, adding: “My goal is to keep improving myself. “To keep improving, improving, improving” – that’s what Kostyuk sounds like. And she says it by no means like a 15-year-old, but like one who already has an amazing maturity.