Kostyuk Wins First WTA 1000 Title With Madrid Open Triumph

Marta Kostyuk
Marta Kostyuk (photo: Mateo Villalba/MMO)

MADRID/WASHINGTON, May 2, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

Marta Kostyuk had just secured championship point to win her first WTA 1000 title at the Mutua Madrid Open Saturday evening. So, what’s a new champion to do in celebrating the biggest win of her career? She executing a perfect backflip on the red clay surface of Manolo Santana Stadium, all the while with a big smile on her face.

During her successful Madrid fortnight, the 23rd-ranked Kostyuk completed a five-match run in Madrid in without dropping a set. At the conclusion of her 6-3, 7-5 victory over World No. 8 Mirra Andreeva in one hour and 21 minutes, the 23-year-old Ukrainian had improved to 11-0 on clay this season and garnered her second-straight WTA Tour title after winning the crown at Rouen, France last month. It’s her third career WTA Tour title overall and first above the WTA 250 level.

Up until Saturday’s final, it had been an impressive run for Andreeva. During her stay in Madrid, where she played in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open for the first time, she celebrated her 19th birthday on April 29.

However, three days later, on Saturday, with the roof open but under cloudy conditions, the No. 26 seed Kostyuk established her bonafides quickly and surprised the ninth-seeded Andreeva, the second-youngest finalist at Madrid since the tournament’s inception in 2009, by winning in straight sets.

“It feels unbelievable to stand here right now. It took me many years to reach this point,” Kostyuk said during her trophy ceremony remarks. “One word I think about right now is consistency. It’s showing up every day, no matter how hard it is. No matter how much you love or hate what you do. I’ve been doing that really well the past years, I think.

“So, I’m very proud of myself and my team. Thank you guys so much for being there for me. I think only we know how much we went through and how many times I wanted to give up. You kept me afloat. You pushed me to keep going. That’s why I’m here today.”

Meanwhile, fighting back tears as she accepted the runner-up prize, Andreeva thanked her team and applauded Kostyuk on her title victory. “Thanks to my team for always being there for me and supporting me at all times, when it’s easy and when it’s hard,” she said. “I know it’s sometimes maybe not easy to work with me. But I really appreciate all your support and everything you do for me. Thank you so much. …

“I’d like to congratulate Marta and [her] team for this amazing win today and for how your clay season is going as well. You won two tournaments in a row. You’re playing very well. Congrats for the win today as well.”

As it happened, on serve through the first five games of the opening set, Kostyuk broke Andreeva, then consolidated the break to lead 5-2. Soon, Kostyuk saved a pair of break points from 15-40 while serving at 5-3 for the set, and put away the 10-point game on her second set point to win it after 34 minutes. Kostyuk saved both break points she faced and outpointed Andreeva 30-20.

In the second set, following an exchange of service breaks in the first two games, Andreeva held at love and went ahead after hitting an authoritative backhand winner. She promptly broke Kostyuk for a second time to take a 3-1 lead. However, Kostyuk broke back in the ensuing game to get back on serve. Next, after a series of holds, Andreeva pushed ahead 5-4. She gained a set point at 30-40 but hit a forehand return long and Kostyuk was spared for the moment. Then, Andreeva gained a second set point but it was nullified by a Kostyuk service ace. Soon, the Ukrainian held after Andreeva blasted a return long. It was 5-all and the emotions were running high on both sides of the net.

Next, Andreeva muffled a backhand return at 30-all and found herself facing a break point. She double-faulted for the third time in the final and it gave Kostyuk an opportunity to serve for the title. Quickly, Kostyuk went ahead 30-0 by being the aggressor and hitting the ball authoritatively. Then, after taking a tumble while gaining a championship point at 40-0, she hit a third-shot backhand long. On her second championship point, she netted a backhand return and it was 40-30. With pressure mounting but a third championship point on her racquet, this time she put away the title victory after Andreeva sent an eighth-shot backhand return long.

At last, it was championship victory for Kostyuk – combining tears with joy – and she lay on her back soaking up the clay and the adoration from the cheering fans, after winning the biggest title of her career. While Kostyuk celebrated with her backflip on the court to wild applause, Andreeva retired to her bench alone and cried tears. There was no handshake between the Ukrainian Kostyuk and the Russian Andreeva and Kostyuk did not mention Andreeva by name during her remarks after receiving the champion’s trophy during the post-match ceremony on court.

“I want to thank all my opponents that I played this week,” she said. “Girls pushed me to the limit. One of the most unbelievable matches for me these weeks. … If you look at the stats up until last year, I think I was like 2-7 in Madrid. I never thought I’d be able to lift the title here. It was not my favorite tournament for sure but thank you to the crowd. It was unbelievable this week. You were supporting me so much every day. It wouldn’t be possible without you.”

Kostyuk, who was appearing in her first WTA 1000 final but third final at all levels this season, proved to be the steadier player when it mattered most. She earned her 17th victory of the season in 21 outings and will crack the WTA Top 20 next week, moving up to No. 15. Meanwhile, Andreeva dropped to 26-8, and was denied a third WTA 1000 title after winning Indian Wells and Dubai in 2025.

The final statistics favored Kostyuk. She hit 26 winners to 28 unforced errors, won 71 percent (27 of 38) of her first-serve points, converted four of four break-point opportunities and outpointed Andreeva 66-50. By comparison, Andreeva hit just 13 winners and committed 33 unforced errors. She won only 62 percent (18 of 29) of her first-serve points and converted two of six break points.

Earlier this season, Andreeva won the Upper Austria Ladies Linz title in the middle of April before reaching the semifinals of the Stuttgart Tennis Grand Prix the following week. However, the rest of the season has been filled with challenges for the talented but tempestuous teenager.

Meanwhile, after finishing runner-up in Brisbane and winning a title at Rouen, Kostyuk finally has captured the biggest prize of her career after defeating Andreeva for the second time this season. En route to the Madrid title triumph, Kostyuk defeated Yulia Putintseva, No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula, Caty McNally, No. 13 Linda Noskova, lucky loser Anastasia Potapova and Andreeva.

Looking back, Kostyuk showed incredible mental resilience throughout. However, like a woman on a mission – an accomplished mission that rewarded her with her first WTA 1000 title – she remained focused. Finally, after receiving her champion’s trophy, Kostyuk let loose and turned giddy. She celebrated with a glorious swig from a bottle of Champagne presented to her. What a happy feeling to end the fortnight.

 

Search

Brigitte Urban
Tennis photographer
camera lens

International Blogs

Florian Heer

Carlos Bernardes: Vom Schiedsrichterstuhl zum Challenger-Turnierdirektor

April 22, 2026

Michael Dickens

Once-In-A-Lifetime Photograph Of Jasmine Paolini Tells A Great Story

December 29, 2025

Marc Raffel

2026 wieder Herren-Weltklassetennis in Troisdorf

December 19, 2025

Dietmar Kaspar

TC Augsburg startet neu strukturiert mit großen Ambitionen in die 1. Bundesliga

December 12, 2025

Podcast

Categories