By Ben Church, CNN
(CNN) — It’s fair to say that even the most specialized tennis expert would have struggled to predict the semifinalists for this year’s French Open.
For so many years, it’s been the same old faces playing each other in these latter stages of grand slams. But not this year.
Through a mixture of injury, shock results and perhaps the sweltering heat last week, the final four across both the men’s and women’s brackets is looking very unfamiliar, with not a single grand slam winner left in it.
So to help you, and us, learn more about those remaining in the competition, CNN Sports has taken a look into their respective careers.
Marta Kostyuk
Starting with the women’s bracket and Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.
The 23-year-old has already made history by beating Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, becoming the first Ukrainian woman to reach the last four at Roland Garros in the Open Era, while also reaching the first major semifinal of her career.
Despite still being relatively young, Kostyuk has been around the tour for quite some time, making her grand slam debut back in 2018 at the Australian Open.
Despite being just 15 at the time, she reached the third round before being knocked out by none other than her compatriot Svitolina.
Kostyuk then spent many years battling to maintain her rankings and struggled to make a big impact at the major events. That changed in 2024, when she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Now, she’s enjoying the best form of her life and is currently world No. 15.
While being ecstatic with her achievement this week, Kostyuk also dedicated her emotional quarterfinal win to the people of Ukraine, amid the ongoing war with Russia.
Mirra Andreeva
Notably, Kostyuk will play Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva for a place in the French Open final.
Despite being younger, 19-year-old Andreeva has more experience at this level, having previously made the semifinal at Roland Garros in 2024.
Like Kostyuk, the Russian was also a child prodigy and made her name on the professional tour when she started breaking records at just 17.
In 2025, she became the youngest player to claim a WTA 1000 title and the youngest to climb into the top 10 of the world rankings since 2007.
She is now ranked No. 8 in the world and is playing on her favorite clay surface in Paris.
Diana Shnaider
Another Russian youngster will also be hoping to make it to Saturday’s final, and that’s Diana Shnaider.
The 22-year-old has been on the run of a lifetime in Paris, beating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals earlier on Wednesday – one of the biggest shocks in a quite ridiculous tournament so far.
She also saw off American Madison Keys in the earlier rounds on the way to her best-ever grand slam campaign – her deepest major run bef