Kostyuk on Eala: "When you're young, everyone sticks labels on your game, your personality, and everything else"

This Wednesday evening, during the first round of the WTA 1000 in Rome, Marta Kostyuk confidently defeated the Philippine breakout star of this season, Alexandra Eala (6-0, 6-1).

The Ukrainian, who reached the quarterfinals in Madrid last week, was impressive and did not concede a single break point in this match against Eala, who had previously made the semifinals in Miami earlier this season.

Asked about her 19-year-old opponent after her victory, Kostyuk believes that such defeats are a necessary step toward the highest level and that Eala will learn from this heavy loss.

"Up until now, I've had an extraordinary career, and I wouldn't ask for anything more because it's truly an incredible journey. I just feel that when you're young, you're so underdeveloped. Your personality is still forming, and everyone sticks labels on your game, your personality, and everything else.

"You're in the middle of all this, everything that's happening, and you're trying to find yourself. It's very easy to get lost, and obviously, you don't know what kind of people you should have around you. That's normal. It's part of life and growing up, but doing it under the spotlight is always a bigger challenge, and it always has consequences.

"I thought about it while playing my match today. I told myself she’ll get there. She’ll be around. But it’s just that when you’re young, you inevitably go through days like today, and I could see she was struggling to handle it.

"I could see she was struggling and didn’t feel good in those conditions. We all go through those days. I’ve never played well in Rome or Madrid! Everything is new—it’s a tough period.

"To be honest, I wouldn’t want to be young again," shared Marta Kostyuk, who will face Daria Kasatkina in the next round of the Rome tournament, in recent comments to Tennis Channel.