Who does Emma Raducanu face in Madrid Open Round 2? Former rival Marta Kostyuk

Oli Dickson Jefford 23 Apr 2025 5:50 PM

Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu in 2021.

Emma Raducanu is safely through her opening-round match at the Madrid Open.

The Brit did not find things easy at times against Dutch star Suzan Lamens, though she was clinical enough to seal a confident 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over the world No 73.

Victory for Raducanu is a major boost for the Brit, not only winning her first match of the season on clay but also bettering a drab round-one exit from the tournament 12 months ago.

However, things will not get any easier next for the former US Open champion, with 24th seed Marta Kostyuk waiting in round two.

As a seeded player, Kostyuk received a bye into the second round and, while she has had a bumpy 2025 season to date, should not be underestimated.

Here is all you need to know about Raducanu’s Round 2 opponent in the Spanish capital.

Career highlights

The standout result of Kostyuk’s career to date came at the 2023 ATX Open, claiming what has so far proven to be the only WTA title of her career.

Kostyuk stunned fourth seed and home favourite Danielle Collins in the semi-final, before defeating Varvara Gracheva 6-3, 7-5 to lift the title.

A strong start to the 2024 season saw the Ukrainian reach two further finals – both at WTA 500 level.

The 22-year-old reached her second career final at the San Diego Open in March 2024, falling to Katie Boulter, before she was beaten by Elena Rybakina in the WTA Stuttgart Open final that April.

A junior Australian Open champion back in 2017, Kostyuk reached her first Grand Slam singles quarter-final in Melbourne in 2024.

Unseeded, Kostyuk beat the likes of 25th seed Elise Mertens on her way to the last eight, where she was beaten in three tight sets by Coco Gauff.

However, she would beat the American in Stuttgart later that year and also defeated Gauff at the 2025 Qatar Open, recording nine career top-10 wins to date.

She reached the quarter-final in Qatar this year, though the best WTA 1000 run of her career came at Indian Wells in 2024, reaching the semi-final.

Kostyuk reached her career-high of world No 16 in June 2024.

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2025 so far

2025 has been a challenging season for the 22-year-old so far, with the Ukrainian having fallen to world No 36 in the WTA Rankings.

Kostyuk dropped 11 spots in this week’s update after failing to defend her Stuttgart runner-up points from 2024, withdrawing from the event after representing Ukraine in the Billie Jean King Cup.

She was also dealt a blow by the cancellation of the San Diego Open, meaning she was unable to defend her finalist points there.

The Ukrainian was beaten in the third round of the Australian Open by Paula Badosa and the fourth round of Indian Wells by Zheng Qinwen, ultimately dropping points at both tournaments.

Overall, Kostyuk has produced a solid-yet-unspectacular 11-9 record for 2025 ahead of the Madrid Open.

The Madrid Open has historically not been her strongest event, with a 1-5 record to her name coming into the tournament this fortnight.

Head-to-head

Kostyuk and Raducanu have met twice before, though this will be their first meeting in three years.

The pair first met in Cluj-Napoca back in October 2021, in what was just Raducanu’s second tournament following her US Open triumph that September.

Ultimately, it proved to be rather a chastening experience for the Brit, with Kostyuk storming towards a 6-2, 6-1 victory.

However, the tables turned when they met for a second time just months later – at the Madrid Open.

On that occasion, it was Raducanu who cruised to victory, beating the Ukrainian 6-2, 6-1 – the same scoreline in which she had lost to Kostyuk in their first meeting.