Marta Kostyuk beats Jasmine Paolini to reach first Wimbledon semi-final

Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk reached the first Wimbledon semi-final of her career on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, beating Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 on Centre Court at the All England Club, The WP Times reports. The 24-year-old, seeded 12th, defeated the 13th seed and last year’s finalist in straight sets to set up a last-four meeting with Czech ninth seed Linda Noskova on Thursday, 9 July.

Kostyuk’s win was built on control rather than drama. Making her Centre Court debut, she broke Paolini early, protected her own serve under pressure and never allowed the Italian to drag the match into the kind of long, grinding contest that made her such a danger at Wimbledon in 2024. For Kostyuk, it was a career-defining afternoon: a first Wimbledon semi-final, a second consecutive Grand Slam semi-final, and another result that confirms her as one of the form players of the 2026 season.

How Kostyuk won on Centre Court

Kostyuk was in command from the outset in a match that lasted just 72 minutes. Using her powerful groundstrokes and athleticism to devastating effect, she earned the first break in the fifth game of the opening set and never looked back, breaking again in the ninth game to take it 6-3. The second set followed the same pattern, with breaks in the fourth and eighth games carrying her to a 6-3, 6-2 victory in just 69 minutes of play on her Centre Court debut. Making her first appearance on the main show court, the Ukrainian dominated with fearless baseline hitting, converting four of her eight break points while conceding just nine points on serve across the two sets.

She was equally commanding on serve, not facing a single break point throughout the contest. Kostyuk raised her hands and dropped to her knees after Paolini scuffed a shot on her second match point.

The result came against an opponent who arrived with pedigree on the grass. Paolini, the 2024 Wimbledon runner-up, had rediscovered her rhythm this fortnight after a difficult 2025 season, seeing off 29th seed Alexandra Eala in three sets to reach the last eight. On the day, however, she had no answer to the pace and depth coming from the other side of the net.

The road to the last four

Kostyuk's run has been built on the momentum of a strong grass-court campaign. Wimbledon is her only grass tournament of the year, yet she reached the quarter-finals having dropped remarkably few sets, defeating qualifier Ashlyn Krueger 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round, a player who had arrived on an 11-match winning streak. WTA

It marked only the third time Kostyuk has reached a Grand Slam quarter-final, and the first time at Wimbledon. Her previous two came at the Australian Open in 2024 and Roland Garros earlier this year, where she reached the semi-finals. At the French Open she lost in the last four to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva. MezhaCBS 17

Before this fortnight, the grass of SW19 had not been kind to her. Kostyuk had never previously made it beyond the third round at Wimbledon, making this year's run comfortably her best at the Championships. Coming into the quarter-final she had won 20 of her last 21 matches across all surfaces, carrying her form from the clay through to the lawns of the All England Club. Sports IllustratedWTA

The head-to-head with Paolini had suggested a tighter contest. The pair had met three times before, with the Italian leading 2-1, and Wednesday was their first meeting since 2023 and their first ever on grass. Their previous encounter had ended in a heavy 6-2, 6-1 defeat for Kostyuk at the 2023 Cincinnati second round. This time the margin ran entirely the other way. Sports IllustratedWTA

Who is Marta Kostyuk

Kostyuk is among the leading figures in Ukrainian tennis and one of the most improved players on the WTA Tour in 2026. The 24-year-old reached the French Open semi-finals in June and carried that momentum onto the grass, dropping just one set on her way to the Wimbledon quarter-finals. She won her first WTA 1000 title in Madrid earlier this year and plays a powerful baseline game built around a heavy forehand.

The statistics underline how sharply she has risen. In 2026 she has been winning 74.4 per cent of her service games, almost ten percentage points better than Paolini, and close to 12 per cent more of her return games than the Italian. Those numbers made her a heavy favourite going into the quarter-final, priced at -272 by bookmakers against Paolini's +215.

Her performances have carried a resonance beyond the scoreline. After beating fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina to reach the French Open semi-final earlier this year, just hours after fresh Russian strikes on Kyiv, Kostyuk publicly criticised Russia — a reminder that her tennis has unfolded against the backdrop of the war in her home country.

With Wednesday's win she has now matched the best Wimbledon result by any Ukrainian player. The victory equalled the mark set by Elina Svitolina, who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals twice. Svitolina managed the feat in 2019 and 2023; Kostyuk becomes only the second Ukrainian woman to reach the last four at the Championships.

What the semi-final holds

Kostyuk's opponent on Thursday will be Linda Noskova, who produced an equally assured display in the day's other quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw. The Czech ninth seed reached her maiden Grand Slam semi-final by beating Belgium's Elise Mertens 6-3, 7-5 on Court One, pummelling the experienced 30-year-old with powerful returns, pinpoint groundstrokes and the occasional drop shot in baking lunchtime heat.

The two semi-finalists are both chasing a first appearance in a Wimbledon final, and the recent history favours Kostyuk. She leads Noskova 1-0 in their head-to-head, having won in straight sets in the Madrid Open quarter-finals in May. The meeting sets up a blockbuster clash between two rising players, each seeking a first Grand Slam final.

Wimbledon 2026 runs in London until 12 July. The women's singles semi-finals are scheduled for Thursday 9 July, with the final to follow at the weekend.

How much Marta Kostyuk has already earned

Reaching the semi-finals guarantees Kostyuk a substantial pay day at what is the richest Championships in Wimbledon history. The 2026 tournament carries a total prize pot of £64.2 million, with Wimbledon offering equal prize money across the women's and men's events. Under this year's breakdown, each losing semi-finalist receives £900,000, while a runner-up earns £1,800,000 and the champion takes home £3,600,000. That means Kostyuk has already secured at least £900,000 from her run. Should she beat Noskova and reach the final she would bank a minimum of £1.8 million, and victory on finals day would earn her £3.6 million. Wimbledon

The prize fund represents a 20 per cent increase on the £53.5 million distributed in 2025. A quarter-finalist this year earned £480,000, a fourth-round exit £300,000 and a first-round loser £80,000 — figures that show how sharply the rewards climb through the second week.

The prize money at a glance:

For Kostyuk, however, the money is likely to be a secondary consideration. A first Wimbledon final now stands just one match away.

Materials used: Marta Kostyuk vперше в кар'єрі вийшла у півфінал Вімблдону (Юлія Лаврук / Suspilne Sport), WTA, AP, Outlook India, Sunday Guardian, Sports Illustrated, LTA and the official Wimbledon prize money schedule.

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Photo: Marta Kostyuk's Instagram.