Fifteen-year-old Marta Kostyuk’s run at the Australian Open came to an end with a 6-2 6-2 loss against fourth seed and fellow Ukrainian Elina Svitolina.

Kostyuk’s success, coming through qualifying and reaching the third round, has been one of the stories of the tournament but she found Svitolina too strong and too experienced in her debut on Rod Laver Arena.

Kostyuk was given a wild card into qualifying after winning the junior title 12 months ago and must now focus on working her way up the professional game from her current ranking of 521.

Australian Open Tennis
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, right, is embraced by compatriot Marta Kostyuk (Dita Alangkara/AP)

Asked how much she learned, Kostyuk said: “A lot. How much do you have to pay Svitolina to have a one-hour lesson? I got it for free.

“She’s a great player, but what I learned is that you can play against everyone. I had the chances, but because I thought she is incredible, like she’s a god, I cannot do anything against her, that’s the problem.”

The pair shared a warm hug at the net and Svitolina had some encouraging words for Kostyuk, who revealed she was in tears after the match.

“It was sad playing another Ukrainian girl,” said Svitolina. “She’s a great fighter. She has a great future – we’re going to hear a lot more about her.”

Svitolina revealed after her second-round struggle against Katerina Siniakova that she has not been feeling healthy but she was strong and focused against Kostyuk and is a hot favourite to reach the semi-finals.

The world number four is the only seed left in her quarter of the draw and next faces Czech qualifier Denisa Allertova.