WTA World No. 23 Marta Kostyuk faced a very challenging opponent in No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, but rose to the occasion — and then backflipped — in the 2026 Mutua Madrid Open final. Kostyuk defeated Andreeva in a straight-sets battle: 7-5, 6-3. Of course, Kostyuk is a relentless spokesperson for her native Ukraine. That includes avoiding handshakes and direct mentions of her Russian (Andreeva and Anastasia Potapova) and Belarusian ( Aryna Sabalenka ) opponents because of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Andreeva is a fiery player who wears her emotions on her sleeve . CUE THE BACKFLIP 🤩 @marta_kostyuk races to her FIRST career WTA 1000 title with a straight sets win over Andreeva! #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/sRIJwo8u9M — wta (@WTA) May 2, 2026 After pulling off the upset, Kostyuk fell to her back on the clay court before getting up and doing a backflip to delight the crowd. Conversely, television cameras caught Andreeva sobbing into a towel on her bench.…