Ukraine-Russia tension hangs over French Open semi-finals

Russia's war in Ukraine will provide an unavoidable backdrop to the French Open women's singles semi-finals.

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk faces Russia's Mirra Andreeva on Thursday with their respective nations still deep in conflict.

Kostyuk, 23, has been one of the most prominent Ukrainian athletes to regularly denounce the war since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called a "special military operation" in February 2022.

Last week, Kostyuk described how a missile hit a building just 100m from her family home in another wave of Russian attacks on Kyiv.

"The biggest thing I can do is sit here and talk about [the war] so more people can find out about it and don't get used to this terrible life," Kostyuk said after beating fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the Roland Garros quarter-finals.

Andreeva, 19, has consistently attempted to deflect any discussion about the war and did the same again before playing Kostyuk.

"It doesn't matter who I play. I really try to play against the ball that is coming at me," said Andreeva, who is playing in her second French Open semi-final after reaching the same stage in 2024.

"It doesn't matter to me who I'm playing against, so I'm trying to really focus on the game and on the gameplan that I have to use on the court."