Marta Kostyuk’s lucky shorts steal the show after Madrid Open triumph

MADRID – Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected “Lucky Shorts”.

The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes on May 2 to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career – her third WTA Tour singles title and second in less than a month after her win in Rouen.

Yet, as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye.

Held alongside her team and her two dogs, she showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting raised eyebrows and plenty of laughter.

“We have a tournament laundry service and sometimes the clothes get mixed up, and last year we ended up with this piece of underwear where in it was written ‘Lucky Shorts’. So we kept it,” Kostyuk told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus.

“My coach Sandra (Zaniewska) kept it as a lucky charm.

“She drove to her father’s house just to pick it up before travelling here again for the tournament. And we made this promise that if I'd win, we would bring the ‘Lucky Shorts’ for the photoshoot with the trophy.”

Kostyuk was delighted to finally conquer a tournament she had long admired.

“This trophy tastes like champagne, no doubt about it,” she said.

“Honestly, watching this tournament as a child and remembering all the people who’ve won it before me, I never thought this was possible, it’s amazing.

“It’s one of the toughest tournaments of the year, and everyone plays so well, especially now. So it certainly tastes good, but I just want to enjoy this today and that’s it.”

Kostyuk became only the second player outside of the top 20 to win the Madrid Open, in her third final of an impressive 2026 thus far.

She said: “It took me many years to reach this point and the one word I think about right now is consistency – 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 (over) the past years I think, so I’m very proud of myself and my team.”

Kostyuk won when she met Andreeva in the Brisbane International quarter-finals earlier in January, and both have since enjoyed stellar starts to the clay-court swing.

The Ukrainian secured the first break to take a 4-2 lead in the opening set, with the Russian struggling to handle her opponent’s superior power.

The 19-year-old, who became favourite to win the tournament after Aryna Sabalenka was eliminated, made too many mistakes in the first set and Kostyuk was only too happy to take advantage of them.

Playing in her first WTA 1000 final, the 26th seed broke in the first game of the second set with Andreeva volleying into the net.

However, she broke back with a fizzing return down the line to tie at 1-1.

The players exchanged breaks again in the fourth and fifth games, before Kostyuk showed great resilience to save two set points and hold for 5-5.

Andreeva double faulted to give her opponent a 6-5 lead and the chance to serve for the title. Kostyuk eventually triumphed on her third championship point.

“I would like to congratulate Marta, for how your clay season is going so far as well, you won two tournaments in a row, so you’re playing very well,” said Andreeva, who could not hold back tears.

It was her third WTA 1000 final and her first defeat in one, as she was unable to add to the WTA 500 titles she won in Adelaide and Linz earlier in 2026. REUTERS, AFP