Twelve matches, twelve wins, zero losses. Marta Kostyuk has not dropped a single match on clay this season. The raw statistic speaks volumes. But it is the trajectory behind it that makes it truly remarkable.
A year ago, the Ukrainian was hovering around the thirtieth spot in the world rankings, capable of isolated upsets but never stringing wins together. Her 2026 season tells a different story entirely. After a solid start to the year on hard courts, it is on clay that Kostyuk has found another dimension. First in the Billie Jean King Cup, then in Rouen where she captured the title by defeating Veronika Podrez in the final, a historic encounter as it marked the first all-Ukrainian WTA final ever.
One week later, Madrid. Seeded 26th, Kostyuk was on nobody’s shortlist. She blazed through the draw, dropping just one set along the way against Anastasia Potapova in the semifinals. Jessica Pegula was swept aside. Linda Noskova found no answers. And in the final, Mirra Andreeva, the world number eight riding her own brilliant form, fell 6-3, 7-5.
The first set of that final encapsulated the clay-court Kostyuk machine: eight forehand winners to Andreeva’s three total winners, 89 % of first-serve points won. Surgical precision.
Her secret? The word she chose after the Madrid triumph says it all: consistency. Kostyuk no longer chases the spectacular shot at all costs. She builds her points, varies angles, and crucially, she refuses to buckle in clutch moments. At 5-5 in the second set of the final, facing two set points, she fired two consecutive aces. Pure nerve.
The comparison with is inevitable. The Pole strung together twenty-three consecutive clay-court victories in 2024, from Madrid through the Olympics. Kostyuk is only at twelve, but the dynamic is identical: a player discovering she is unbeatable on a surface and building confidence match after match.
At twenty-three, Kostyuk now sits at a career-high world number fifteen. She ranks ninth in the Race to Riyadh, which would put her at the WTA Finals for the first time. Five top-10 wins this season, matching her entire 2024 tally.
The road to Roland-Garros now runs through Rome. And if Kostyuk maintains this pace on the red dirt, the Porte d’Auteuil could well welcome a genuine new contender. She gets the final word: “It’s about the journey, not the destination.” The journey, as it happens, has never looked this impressive.