On day one at Roland Garros, Marta Kostyuk moved into the second round after beating Oksana Selekhmetova 6-2 6-3, while Karen Khachanov, Belinda Bencic and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina all fought through key moments across multiple courts. The day’s tennis was
Roland Garros opened with the kind of tennis that turns small swings into loud momentum—and with one player carrying a different kind of weight onto the court.
Marta Kostyuk, ranked 15 and seeded into the day’s schedule with nerves already stretched, beat Oksana Selekhmetova 6-2 6-3. After the match, she looked more emotional than her straightforward scoreline suggested. She did not hide why. Earlier that morning, about 100m from her parents’ house, a missile destroyed a building. Kostyuk is Ukrainian. and she said she spent the morning crying and didn’t know how she’d handle what was coming next.
She kept returning to the same point: she didn’t want to talk about herself today. Holding back tears, she said her thoughts and her heart were with the people of Ukraine. Her biggest inspiration. she said. is the Ukrainian people—and that she woke up today looking at them living their lives despite being in need. She knew Ukrainians would be in the stands supporting her, and she thanked them, then the rest of the crowd.
Kostyuk’s path to the second round was already built in the earlier games. At 12.35 CEST. the updates had her moving away with a lead of 6-2 5-1 after Selekhmetova struggled to find her serving rhythm. Kostyuk tried to serve out. but again she struggled: she faced a break-point moment. saved it with a brutal backhand. and forced deuce. By the end. she did not need another long escape—she closed the match after taking the second set to 6-3.
Her next match is set: Kostyuk will play the winner of Katie Volynets v Clara Burel.
Around her, day one’s tournament also moved through tense stretches and quick reversals. On Chatrier, the momentum shifted in the match between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Damir Dzumhur. At 12.34 CEST, the updates showed Davidovich Fokina leading 5-2 in the second after losing the first on a tiebreak. The swing had earlier started with a first-set contest that included a 7-3 tiebreak score for Dzumhur. At one stage. Gea dropped from a 5-3 lead scenario into scrambling moments of his own. and Davidovich Fokina’s pressure periodically resurfaced through the rallies.
Khachanov’s match with Arthur Gea kept moving in and out of danger. At 13.03 CEST. Gea was down 0-30. then found an ace—only to follow it with a double fault and a netted backhand. Even with that wobble, Khachanov was still under threat: Gea led Khachanov 5-4 in the second after losing the first. Later in the same update run, Gea forced a break point against Khachanov, had it saved, and then earned another. When a forehand went long, Gea led 5-3 in the second, prompting the home crowd to chant his name. The match did not end that way: Davidovich Fokina later levelled at a set apiece in his own contest. and in Khachanov’s match. the closing moves were still tight enough to be felt in the scoreboard.
The battle on Lenglen carried its own pressure points. At 11.55 CEST, Karen Khachanov—seeded No 13—was described as leading Arthur Gea, a qualifier, 4-0, before later updates showed Khachanov being forced to save a break point against the growing Gea, closing out a hold to lead 6-3 1-1.
Belinda Bencic’s match with Sinja Kraus was also decisive in its own way, but not without work. At 13.03 CEST, Bencic served out to lead Kraus, with the score 6-2. Earlier, Bencic was described as leading Kraus 4-2 in the first while Bencic’s match drew attention as the day moved between courts.
Elsewhere, the schedule filled up with quick snapshots that told the same story: day one wasn’t settled by reputation.
On Mathieu, Tomljanovic led Mcnally 6-3. Bouzkova was up 6-3 on Bronzetti. Kecmanovic and Maroszan were level at 5-5. Wang led Tagger 6-3. Duckworth had taken the first set off Gallo, 6-3.
In a match that kept sliding between advantage and recovery. the coverage noted that Gea improved after going 4-0 down. “which makes sense given this is his debut in the competition.” The same thread of suspense ran through the men’s draw more broadly. with Khachanov—who has reached the last eight twice at this competition and the last four of the other two slams—portrayed as a player who can go far. even if the “eye-test” suggests he may lack a particular finishing edge.
As the day unfolded in Paris, the tennis served up everything a first-round schedule promises: tiebreaks with sharp turns, service games that refused to behave, and matches where one moment could erase the comfort of the scoreline.
But for Kostyuk, the biggest shift came off court. She said she woke up to the reality that a missile had destroyed a building near her parents’ house. that she spent the morning crying. and that all her attention—despite the match—still went back to Ukraine. Then she walked into the second round anyway.
That combination, more than the clay-court rallies or the scorching temperatures, is what made day one feel like more than a sports opening. It felt like a test of composure, played point by point, on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
Roland Garros 2026 Marta Kostyuk Oksana Selekhmetova Karen Khachanov Arthur Gea Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Damir Dzumhur Belinda Bencic Sinja Kraus day one results