For the first time, Marta Kostyuk is a WTA 1000 champion. The 23-year-old from Ukraine defeated Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in 1 hour and 21 minutes on Saturday to win the 2026 Mutua Madrid Open for the third title of her career and her first above the 250 level.
The victory capped a dominant week in Spain for Kostyuk, who entered as the No. 26 seed and defeated the likes of Jessica Pegula, Linda Noskova and Andreeva en route to the title. It gives her back-to-back titles at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level for the first time, following her triumph in Rouen a few weeks ago.
“It feels unbelievable to stand here right now,” Kostyuk said during the trophy ceremony. “It took me many years to reach this point, and the 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. And I’ve been doing that really well the past year.
“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, but you kept me afloat, and you forced me to keep going. And that’s why I’m here today.”
Consistency. It’s a word that is also representative of Kostyuk not just in the final against the higher-seeded Andreeva, and not just this week in Madrid, where she dropped just one set on her path to the title, but the entirety of her 2026 season. Kostyuk is now 17-4 on the year, with three of those losses coming to Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina.
She is 11-0 in WTA main-draw matches on clay this season and 12-0 overall on the surface, including her win at the Billie Jean King cup — good for a career-best winning streak. These results will lift her to a career-high ranking of No. 15 in Monday’s PIF WTA Rankings and to No. 9 in the Race to Riyadh.
Her level in Saturday’s final reflected those rankings.
Kostyuk couldn’t have scripted a better start to the championship match if she tried. She struck four straight winners in the opening game to hold for 1-0, then added three more to earn a second straight love hold for 2-1. She earned the first break for 4-2 with a rocket of a crosscourt forehand that set up double break point, then sealed it with another winner off that wing.
Her serve-plus-forehand combination kept her in full control throughout the set. She won 89% of her first-serve points and hit eight forehand winners — compared with just three total winners from Andreeva — to take the opener in 34 minutes.
Andreeva, who entered with a 5-1 record in WTA singles finals, responded in a far more competitive second set.
After Kostyuk broke for 1-0, Andreeva reeled off three straight games for a 3-1 lead. Even after Kostyuk rattled off eight unanswered points to level at 3-3, Andreeva remained calm. She went toe-to-toe with Kostyuk, holding for 5-4 and finally earning her chance to strike back.
But when Kostyuk saved two set points in the next game — the second with an ace, which she backed up with another on the next point — it was clear how much this moment meant to the Ukrainian. She held for 5-5, then converted a break point after an Andreeva double fault.
“I wanted to start the match putting pressure on her,” Kostyuk said in her post-match press conference. “I was serving really well today. Regarding the second set, she played three really, really good games. I just wanted to keep doing the same thing, and it worked out.”
Andreeva saved two championship points, but on the third, her backhand sailed long. What followed was a championship celebration from Kostyuk that will be remembered for years to come.
“A very special two weeks here,” Kostyuk said during the trophy ceremony. “If you look at the stats, up until last year I think I was 2-7 in Madrid, so I never thought I would be able to lift the (trophy) here. It was not my favorite tournament, for sure.”
With the win, Kostyuk became the first player from Ukraine to claim the Madrid Open title since the event’s inauguration in 2009, and just the seventh player born in the 2000s to win a WTA 1000 title. She joins a group that includes:
Bianca Andreescu
Mirra Andreeva
Amanda Anisimova
Coco Gauff
Victoria Mboko
Iga Swiatek
The list of accomplishments doesn’t end there. With the victory, Kostyuk has won multiple titles in a season for the first time in her career and has five Top 10 wins in 2026, matching her most in a calendar year (2024).
Andreeva opens up about emotions, looks ahead to doubles final
Two of those Top 10 wins have come against Andreeva, who was emotional in defeat after another strong week.
“Every time I lose, it’s like the end of the world to me,” Andreeva said in her post-match press conference. “I don’t know. Sometimes I see other players smile right after the matches they lost. I don’t understand how people do it. I wish I could do it. Every match that I lose is obviously very disappointing and very painful to me.
“I hope that maybe in the future this can improve and I can maybe, after the match that I lose, talk about it right away and not (have to) take some time before starting to talk about it.”
Despite her disappointment, the runner-up finish continues a quality season for Andreeva, who, like Kostyuk, has won two titles in 2026 in Adelaide and Linz. She is projected to rise one spot to No. 7 in Monday’s rankings and will move up two spots to No. 4 in the race.
But first, the recently turned 19-year-old still has a chance to leave Madrid with hardware, as she and Diana Shnaider will contest the double final against Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend on Sunday.
“The tournament is still not over,” she said. “So I’m going to try to go for it in doubles tomorrow as well.”