Ukrainian tennis star, Marta Kostyuk will face the Dutch tennis player, Arantxa Rus in the R32 of the Korea Open. Kostyuk has played some outstanding tennis this season and her incredible consistency has now pushed her into the Top 20. Will her incredible form give her an edge in this contest against Rus?

Marta Kostyuk vs Arantxa Rus: Preview

Kostyuk started the season with a bang, reaching the QF at the Adelaide International and the 2024 AO. After that, she reached two finals and made it to the semis in the Indian Wells Masters. Overall, although she hasn’t yet won a title this year, she has looked decent in her previous tournaments. Marta Kostyuk will enter this match after her R3 defeat to Emma Navarro in the US Open. Now, it’ll be interesting to see if she can yet again pull things back on track in her favor in Seoul.

On the other hand, Arantxa Rus won a title at the ITF Netherlands 01A in July this year. Apart from that, she has made quite a few deep runs into her previous tournaments but has failed to grab her second title of the season. Interestingly, even Rus is entering this match after her defeat to Emma Navarro in the R2 of the US Open. Navarro completely outclassed her by 6-1,6-1 in that match.

Kostyuk vs Rus: Head-to-Head

Both of these tennis stars have played each other twice in their careers as of now. Currently, their H2H record is well-poised at 1-1. However, since their last meeting, Marta Kostyuk has now become a more mature player. So, we can expect some fireworks from her in this match.

• 2018 Tashkent R32: Rus 6-4,6-3.
• 2019 Valencia QF: Kostyuk 6-4,3-6,6-0.

Prediction: Kostyuk to win in two sets

So, it has been almost five years since their last meeting. A lot has changed from their last match, Marta Kostyuk is now ranked 18th in the world whereas Arantxa Rus is placed at the 84th spot in the women’s singles ranking. Kostyuk has a win-loss record of 31-17 in this season but Rus could only manage to put up a win-loss record of 17-22. Looking at the consistency of the 22-year-old Ukrainian, we’re keeping her as the favorite in this intriguing faceoff.

Kostyuk has never played in this tournament before, but Rus reached the R16 in the 2023 season. The Dutch tennis star has better records on the clay surface but Kostyuk is a real threat on the hard courts. If we take a look at their playing styles, Arantxa Rus is a left-handed player whose game majorly relies on her impeccable two-handed backhand shots. She can generate a lot of topspin in her shots. Apart from that she’s also a good server and can cause a few trouble to Kostyuk with her fiery serves.

Marta Kostyuk on the other hand, is known for her innovative shot-taking skills. She is also a good mover on the court and can come up with some extraordinary drop shots. Her aggressive style of play and her tenacity on the court are two of the main things that make her game more entertaining for the fans. However, Kostyuk needs to keep an eye on her double fault counts. She has hit 129 aces this season but has committed 292 double faults as of now. In her three matches at the US Open, Kostyuk has hit 19 double faults. So, if she can keep a check on the double fault counts, then there shouldn’t be much trouble for her to seal the deal in this match.