Marta Kostyuk withdraws from Queen's just hours before opening test, hands 17-year-old Brit with a different opponent

Marta Kostyuk enjoyed the clay swing of a lifetime. She is raring to go for grass in an attempt to continue this blinding form, but that will have to be put on hold after she was forced to withdraw from Queen's Club Championships with an ankle injury. In the process, this opens up the door for 17-year-old Brit Mika Stojsavljevic with an easier draw now available.

Kostyuk was one of the standout players on clay. She began with a title in the Rouen Open before extending her streak to the Madrid Open, defeating Mirra Andreeva in the final for a maiden WTA 1000 title.

She skipped the next couple of events, including Rome, to focus on Roland Garros. She made it to the semi-finals before an exemplary Andreeva reversed the roles and dished out a first defeat on the surface in 2026 for the Ukrainian.

Now up to a career high of world number 12, the 23-year-old is flying. Grass is now calling as she looks to continue this imperious form, but it is not set to get underway yet. She had entered Queen's, but just hours before her match she was forced to pull out with a right ankle problem.

In winning all those tournaments, Kostyuk has gone on a lot of deep runs. Her semi-final in Paris was on Thursday which did give her a good amount of time to rest and recover ahead of the event in London, but the number of matches played beforehand may have had an effect in this withdrawal. She is not signed on to play anymore tournaments ahead of Wimbledon for the time being.

Her opponent was supposed to be Stojsavljevic. The teenager is Britain's next big tennis hope. She has already impressed this year, drafted in to play the Billie Jean King Cup qualifier against Australia Down Under after a number of top names pulled out due to a variety of reasons.

She impressed vastly, getting a lot of plaudits after her 7-6(4), 7-5 win over the inform Talia Gibson as she helped her country book their spots in the finals later this year.

Her form has not been amazing as of late competing on the ITF Circuit. She did reach the quarter-final of the Birmingham Open, a WTA 125 event won by Alexandra Eala. Her time would come to an end as she lost in a tiebreak to the eventual runner-up Nikola Bartunkova.

A tall order lay in her way at Queen's. She was the firm second favourite against Kostyuk, but was relishing the chance to face off against one of the best players in the world. That is no longer the case. With Kostyuk pulling out, she will instead take on former Wimbledon semi-finalist Donna Vekic. The Croatian is not at her absolute best, and comes into the tournament following a defeat to Anna Blinkova in qualifying. She will still be a dangerous prospect on court in what is set to be a thrilling matchup.