Roland Garros 2026: Swiatek and Bencic stunned as Kostyuk and Svitolina set up all-Ukrainian quarter-final

The women's draw at Roland Garros was blown wide open on Sunday as four-time champion Iga Swiatek was eliminated in the fourth round by Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk. The world number three, who had not failed to reach the quarter-finals in Paris since 2019, fell 7-5, 6-1 in one hour and 39 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Swiatek's reign ends

Kostyuk, 23, arrived in Paris on a 16-match winning streak on clay after claiming titles in Rouen and Madrid. Despite never having taken a set off Swiatek in their previous meetings, she capitalised on an error-strewn performance from the Pole, who committed 39 unforced errors. Swiatek broke early in the second set but then lost six consecutive games as Kostyuk converted her first match point.

I'm still in shock. To beat such an incredible player, she has won four times here... I had never won a set against her before, it's incredible, I still don't believe it.

Swiatek, who celebrated her 25th birthday on Sunday, had won the title in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and reached the semi-finals last year. Her early exit follows the third-round loss of defending champion Coco Gauff to Anastasia Potapova on Saturday, guaranteeing a new women's champion in Paris.

Svitolina stages comeback

In the day's other fourth-round match, world number seven Elina Svitolina overturned a one-set deficit to defeat Switzerland's Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in two hours and three minutes. Bencic, the world number 11, started strongly and took the opening set, but Svitolina grew into the contest and dominated the decider, dropping no games.

I don't play tennis to win, but because I love it. I want to make people happy and unite people.

The result sets up a quarter-final between Svitolina and Kostyuk, ensuring a Ukrainian presence in the semi-finals. Svitolina, a recent winner of the WTA Rome tournament, is into her sixth Roland Garros quarter-final in fifteen appearances.

Bencic's missed opportunity

Bencic, playing in her first Roland Garros fourth round, raced to a 5-2 lead in the first set before a dip in form allowed Svitolina back into the match. The Swiss Olympic champion struggled with her serve and was broken multiple times, culminating in a bagel in the deciding set. Her exit leaves Jil Teichmann as the only Swiss woman remaining in the draw; she faces Russia's Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round on Sunday.

What comes next

The tournament, running from 24 May to 7 June, offers a women's prize pool of €22,580,000 as part of a total purse of $61.723 million. With Swiatek and Gauff both out, the path to the title is wide open. Kostyuk, now into her second Grand Slam quarter-final after the 2024 Australian Open, will carry a 17-match clay winning streak into her meeting with Svitolina.