In the last two decades, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have literally ruled the tennis world. Together, the ‘Big 3’ won 66 Grand Slam titles, and they’ve also been number one in singles for a total of almost 947 weeks! But with Federer’s retirement in September 2022, and then with Nadal’s departure last year, the Serb has now become the sole torchbearer of their ever-lasting legacy. But even the Serb has been struggling recently to make any impact on the Tour. With the ‘Big 3’ fading away slowly, there is a set of fans who have now shifted their focus to the rivalry of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. So, there is always something to talk about in men’s tennis. Highlighting all of these, last year Aryna Sabalenka made a controversial statement claiming, “I prefer to watch men’s tennis than women’s, I feel there’s more logic and it’s more interesting to watch.” Recently, Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk also spoke about how hard it is for female players to keep the crowd engaged in late-night matches…

Just a few hours ago, the world number 36, Marta Kostyuk,  secured a comfortable 6-3,6-2 win over Russia’s Anastasia Potapova in the R16 of the 2025 Madrid Open. Despite a late start in this final match of the day, there were plenty of fans showing up to show support for these two tennis stars. So, shortly after finishing the match on a positive note, Kostyuk was spotted sharing her love and acknowledgment with those supporters who stayed till the last minute of the match.

She was a bit amazed by the turnout, and she portrayed her true feelings in her post-match interview by saying, “It’s my seventh year here. So it’s very nice, I mean I love Madrid and I love this city and so far it’s my best round this year. I’m very happy the crowd stayed. I know it’s late. Thank you for staying. When you play late matches, it’s difficult to keep the crowd unless you’re Rafa, Roger, Novak, or Carlos in this case. Yeah, I’m very happy to be in the quarterfinals.”

Marta Kostyuk had a 1-5 record at this tournament prior to the 2025 edition. Her best record in this tournament before this was reaching the second round. She has already defeated Emma Raducanu in her first match this season and Veronika Kudermetova in the second. Can the Ukrainian keep her winning run intact in the Spanish capital? Time will tell! But do you know Kostyuk herself is also a huge fan of the ‘Big 3’?

Talking about her fascination with the greats of the game, in 2018, during an interview with WTA Insider, she was asked about her tennis idols. In reply to that, Kostyuk said, “No one. I wanted to marry Novak Djokovic (laughing). I think he knows it because I was in a Serbian newspaper.” Then in 2023, when she got the chance to play a doubles match with Rafael Nadal at a charity event called ‘Tennis Plays for Peace,’ she said, “Dreams do come true.“

Then, later on in another interview, Kostyuk said, “I was a fervent tennis watcher during my childhood, constantly learning from the skills and strategies of various players. However, it was Roger and Novak who left a lasting impression.” She had once even gotten the chance to meet the Swiss Maestro in Monaco. 

Coming back to her incredible run in Madrid, Kostyuk has already recorded 11 WTA 1000 wins in 2025 (her highest total in a single season at this level). There is a special person in her team who has played a pivotal role in her recent success. Who’s she?

The secret behind the successful partnership of Marta Kostyuk and her coach Sandra Zaniewska

Sandra Zaniewska competed on the professional level until 2017, and after that, she began coaching. Before taking up the coaching role for the Ukrainian star in July 2023, she had coached the likes of Alize Cornet and Petra Martic. Following her inclusion in the team, Marta Kostyuk reached her first major QF at the 2024 AO and finished the year inside the Top 20 for the very first time in her career. In 2025, she has already made it to two WTA 1000 QF (the previous one was at the Qatar Open).

What’s the secret behind this successful partnership? Speaking about her partnership with Kostyuk, Zaniewska recently said, “For me, it’s the feeling that I can make an impact on someone, and really make them better. As a player is one thing, but also as a person, right? Because you spend so much time with that person, and I feel like my first two players were older than me, but Marta now is 10 years younger. She’s still at the stage of just growing, of evolving, of becoming the version of herself that she really wants to be, for the other part of her life, for the maybe more ‘grown-up’ I would say part of her life later on.”

She further added, “For me, witnessing that, it’s a huge privilege because you have this player that you’re making better and you see the progress, but you also see how she evolves over time as a person. That’s very fulfilling for me.” Sandra Zaniewska says Marta Kostyuk understands her game pretty well and has many options in her hands when it comes to her shots. “Every player has their own game style that’s, like, natural for them, and our job as coaches is to bring it out and make it the best that we can. So I’m just seeing this grow, and hopefully it continues this way.”

According to Zaniewska, the secret to their successful partnership lies in the “connection” they share with others on and off the court. Can she now help her clinch her first victory against the world number one? Well, Marta Kostyuk will be facing the two-time champion (2021,2023) Aryna Sabalenka in the QF of the Madrid Open. Sabalenka has a 2-0 record over the Ukrainian, and a win against Kostyuk would mark her 21st victory in this tournament. In total, only five women have clinched 20 match wins in Madrid in 25 matches or fewer. Sabalenka did it in just 24 matches! Can she now secure her third victory over Kostyuk? Share your thoughts in the comments section.