Tennis
2026-06-04 - Marta Kostyuk vs Mirra Andreeva
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Tennis : French Open Semi Final
Thursday 4th June 2026 - Scheduled 3pm
2pm (British Time)
Preview
There has long been an expectation around Marta Kostyuk and the potential she has, and at 23 years old she looks to finally be making her big breakthrough on the Tour. After getting the better of compatriot Elina Svitolina in the Quarter Final, Marta Kostyuk is moving very close to the top ten in the WTA World Rankings, while she has also reached a maiden Grand Slam Semi Final.
If she wins one more match, Marta Kostyuk will enter the top ten of the World Rankings for the first time, while a French Open title would mean she also becomes the Ukrainian Number One.
Putting together an unbeaten clay court season, which includes a big WTA 1000 title in Madrid, should mean Marta Kostyuk comes into this Semi Final filled with confidence, but it is the younger player in this match up that has the experience edge.
While there has long been an expectation about the kind of successes that Marta Kostyuk could have on a tennis court, Mirra Andreeva has been seen as a future multiple time Grand Slam Champion since the then 17 year old reached the French Open Semi Final in 2024.
The run at the French Open means Mirra Andreeva has reached the Quarter Final four times at Grand Slam level, and three of those have been in Paris- she has converted two of those into Semi Final appearances, including this season, but Mirra Andreeva will have to get the better of an opponent who has beaten her twice already this season, including once in the Madrid Final on a clay court.
There is the issue about the Russia-Ukraine war that has continued to be a feature of the press conferences, but the focus here has to be on the court.
During the run to the Semi Final, Mirra Andreeva has produced the stronger numbers and her crushing win over Sorana Cirstea in the Quarter Final will have given the teenager a huge amount of confidence. She has long been very happy on the clay courts and Andreeva has been involved in very big matches at the French Open in each of the last three editions of this Grand Slam.
Experience is a big edge when it comes to handling the sense of occasion and that is something that Mirra Andreeva will have to try and use.
However, the numbers may be stronger overall in this tournament, but it is Marta Kostyuk who has two top ten wins under her belt and she has definitely had to fight through the tougher path. Doing so, and being unbeaten on the clay in 2026, should mean Marta Kostyuk is not intimidated by the match, but it is all about handling the emotion on the day with so much on the line.
It will be important for her team to try and get Marta Kostyuk to focus on the court, although the war in her home country is going to be on the mind and facing a Russian opponent will make that impossible to ignore.
The current World Number 15 has beaten Mirra Andreeva twice this season and that will be a boost for the confidence.
Tellingly, Marta Kostyuk has been the much stronger player in both matches and has won both in straight sets, including that Madrid Final last month- the clay here plays differently to Madrid, but Kostyuk has proven to be the stronger server in those head to head matches and that could be a key to the outcome of this Semi Final.
Mirra Andreeva is a confident player when the serve is working, but Marta Kostyuk could dip those levels if she is able to get into thos return games as she has previously.
It is Marta Kostyuk who has broken serve at least four times in each match played in Paris and she has broken six times in four of the five wins- this may be the first time she drops a set to Mirra Andreeva with the nerves likely going to play a big impact, but the latter has not reached the Final of a Grand Slam herself and there are still those moments when Andreeva reminds everyone that she is still a very young player and that may be the case on Thursday.
Prediction
This is a really good French Open Semi Final, even if it is perhaps a little unexpected.
The winner of this one between Marta Kostyuk and Mirra Andreeva is likely going into the Saturday French Open Final as the favourite, but the edge in this last four contest is with the former.
The Pick :
Marta Kostyuk 2-0 Mirra Andreeva
