Marta Kostyuk has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Guadalajara Open without having played a single point in the tournament. As a top-ranked player, Kostyuk received a first-round bye, meaning she did not have to play in the initial round. She then got a walkover in her second-round match on Wednesday after her opponent, Taylor Townsend, withdrew due to illness. A walkover in tennis means a player automatically advances to the next round without having to play, typically when the opponent is unable to compete. Kostyuk, currently ranked world number 10, will now face the eighth-seeded Russian player Liudmila Samsonova in the quarter-finals. Samsonova reached this stage by defeating American player Kayla Day in a closely contested three-set match with the score 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 7-6 (7-5). This will be a significant challenge for Kostyuk, who has shown strong form in recent tournaments. This is not the first time Kostyuk has achieved success on the tennis court. Earlier this year, she won her first WTA 1000 title in Madrid in May. She also reached the semi-finals of both the French Open and Wimbledon, demonstrating her ability to compete at the highest level of women’s tennis. Her performance in these major tournaments has solidified her status as one of the rising stars in the sport. Most recently, Kostyuk faced a setback in the US Open, where she lost in the last 16 to sixth seed Linda Noskova. Despite this loss, her performance throughout the year has been impressive, and her automatic progression to the quarter-finals in Guadalajara highlights her strong standing in the rankings. As she prepares to face Samsonova, all eyes will be on whether Kostyuk can continue her successful run in the tournament.