Marta Kostyuk has claimed the biggest title of her tennis career.The 23-year-old Ukrainian downed world No. 8 Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday (2 May) in the women's singles final of the Madrid Open 2026, continuing an 11-match win streak on the red clay.Kostyuk is set to rise from world No. 23 to a career high of 15 in Monday's WTA rankings.The WTA 1000 title is a third for Kostyuk, who now adds her name to the growing list of favourites for the French Open, which is due to start 24 May in Paris."It feels unbelievable to stand here right now," an emotional Kostyuk told the crowd inside the Caja Magica. "It took me many years to reach this point. The one word that I think about is 'consistency'. It's about showing up every day."I've been doing that really well the past year, so I'm really proud of myself and my team."Andreeva, 19, was looking for her third title at the WTA 1000 level - just one step below the Grand Slams.The victory for Kostyuk was a 14th career top-10 win, and marked a sparkling fortnight in Madrid for her, having beaten world No. 5 Jessica Pegula in the third round and dropping just one set in the tournament, against Anastasia Potapova in the semis.Nishikori Kei, Asia's most successful male tennis player, announces pending retirementCoco Gauff and other North American female stars to watch out for at LA28Madrid Open 2026: Marta Kostyuk flips for joyThe moment of the match came after it, when Kostyuk launched into a back handspring on the red clay to mark her celebration, having fallen to her knees and covered her face in disbelief after championship point.She was strong out of the gates, hitting three winners in the first game of the match and then breaking midway through the set to go up 4-2.She served for the first set at 5-3, but fell 15-40 down. She'd save both of those break points - including with one of the points of the match that included a backhand volley lob from the baseline by Kostyuk - and then clinched the first set with a backhand long from Andreeva.The second set was a roller-coaster, as the two traded breaks to open before Andreeva took a 3-1 lead.But she could never break completely free of the consistent, varied game of Kostyuk, with the Ukrainian saving two set points at 4-5 before Andreeva blinked - double-faulting at break point down at 5-all and giving Kostyuk the chance to serve out the match.The 23-year-old did just that, sealing her victory with another backhand long from the teen."I never, ever thought that I would lift the title here," a smiling Kostyuk said during the trophy ceremony. "It was not my favourite tournament for sure."Kostyuk was just 5-7 in her previous trips to the Spanish capital before her 2026 campaign.
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