Kostyuk, Raducanu lead Generation 2002 into second week of Rome

ROME -- Marta Kostyuk’s third-round match against Leylah Fernandez at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia featured two of the most natural talents on the Hologic WTA Tour. Several of their more creative exchanges had the appreciative Pietrangeli crowd visibly delighted before Kostyuk emerged a 6-4, 6-2 winner.

Before Sunday, the last time they had met was nine years ago in Les Petits As, the premier U14 tournament in the world. Kostyuk won 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 -- but it was the only set she dropped on her way to the trophy. For the Ukrainian, it left a strong impression.

"I remember how that was a very difficult match for me," Kostyuk said, "I was one of the favorites to win the title, and having such a tough matchup in the second round -- she was coming to net a lot, I remember -- was a struggle.

"You can see when someone's young when they have a chance of being good in pros, but you can never predict 100%. But there were a lot of girls my age who made it. We had a pretty good year."

Indeed, the 2002-born generation was out in force on Sunday in Rome. Over on the Foro Italico's brand new SuperTennis Arena, Emma Raducanu followed Kostyuk into the Round of 16, defeating Veronika Kudermetova 5-7, 6-0, 6-1.

The evening matches saw two more players born in 2002 pick up wins: Doha finalist Clara Tauson overcame No. 10 seed Emma Navarro in three sets, and No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen eased past Magdalena Frech in straights.

Seeing a quintet of players from her birth year at such a high level in the sport doesn't surprise Raducanu -- if anything, she sees herself as the odd one out.

"When we were younger we were all really good juniors," she said after defeating Kudermetova. "I was probably not as good a junior as them, because I was in school and didn't play too much. When you're younger you feel they're going to be good. Then seeing them around here is special, because we've known each other for so long."

The generational connection isn't just a class reunion. Kostyuk says strong peers in her age group sharpened her game and shaped her into the player she is now.

"Competition makes you grow," she said. "Not when you win easy against everyone."

Players in the same age group also use each other as benchmarks -- though this can be a double-edged sword. In 2022, when Zheng first rose into the Top 100, she said: "I saw people the same age as me much more in front of me -- not their level, just their ranking and their results." At the time, Raducanu, Fernandez, Kostyuk and Tauson were all ranked ahead of her.

Three years later, Zheng is the highest-ranked of the group and downplays any suggestion she tracks their progress.

"You know what, when I put eyes too much on the others I don't focus on myself," Zheng said after her second-round win over Olga Danilovic. "I didn't find a good result when I put eyes on the others. These days I don't look any more at what others do. Right now, I want to stay in a quiet, simple zone."

Kostyuk has also learned to cherish her path for what it is, but has learned the hard way. She was a dominant and prodigious junior, winning the 2017 Australian Open junior title at the age of 14 and reaching the third round of the main draw the following year. But it would take six years following the latter breakthrough before she cracked the WTA Top 20.

"I was usually better than everyone," Kostyuk said. "I was one of the first ones to break through. And then I had a fall, and other girls broke through and played really well. At times, it was difficult for me to watch. I've felt like I want to be there, I have to be there, my level is good enough. But apparently it wasn't, if I wasn't there."

Generation 2002 isn’t the only group that wears its birth year with pride. Seven different major semifinalists have been born in 1997 so far, more than any year since 1989, and top names in the Rome draw include Jelena Ostapenko, Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic and Daria Kasatkina.

"[Veronika] Kudermetova too, and [Ana] Konjuh was really good in juniors," Ostapenko pointed out, keen to bolster the strength of her generation. "We made each other play better. We inspire each other in some way."

Osaka repaid the compliment.

"I probably keep an eye on them more than any other players," she said. "Probably that's just because I like them a lot. People know Ostapenko's my favorite player. I really love her a lot. I think she's the exact polar opposite to me. She's just fun to me. Bencic, I really respect a lot and she's also a polar opposite to me -- in terms of, you can count on her to win the matches she should win!"

While the 2002-born players are still working to separate their identities from those they've long been grouped with, Osaka and Ostapenko -- both now 27 -- are clear in their mutual admiration. In older generations still, there's even more of a kinship. Like Osaka, Jessica Pegula is happy to admit that she follows her peer group closely -- one fellow 1994-born player in particular.

"I've felt that way a little bit with Ons [Jabeur]," Pegula said ahead of Rome. "Just because we were both not really top [juniors]. We never came out supposed to be Top 10 in the world. Kind of struggled with injuries, struggled with physical stuff. I remember playing her when we were ranked about the same, somewhere in the 70s, 80s or 90s. I remember when she broke out and had a couple good wins. Then I would. We both moved up around the same time.

"You're kind of on a similar journey and path. It's cool to see that we both at one point did figure it out. ... It's pretty cool to go on that journey together."

From early junior rivalries to mutual inspirations to, ultimately, an extra-special camaraderie, the careers of players in the same generation are intertwined. The connection is, as Raducanu points out with a laugh, "sometimes good and sometimes bad," but it's undeniable.

As Kostyuk put it, your peer group shapes the person -- and player -- you grow into.

"You are here because of all these other players," she said.