ATP/WTA: Sinner stands alone, Kostyuk’s Madrid magic

Unstoppable Sinner out on his own

He’s the only man ever to win five successive Masters 1000 titles. Just take that statistic in.

Stretching back to the 2025 Rolex Paris Masters, Jannik Sinner has been relentless, also taking the trophy home from Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and now Madrid.

No one has ever captured the opening four Masters 1000 titles of a year either. Sinner is building quite the legacy.

On Sunday, Alexander Zverev succumbed to the Italian’s laser-like precision and force in a bruising 6-1, 6-2 championship match at the Manolo Santana Stadium.

“I think there's a big gap between Sinner and everybody else right now. And I think there's a big gap between (Carlos) Alcaraz, myself, maybe Novak (Djokovic), and everybody else,” declared world No.3 Zverev. “I think there's two gaps right now. It's difficult to say that there's not a gap between Sinner and everybody else if he hasn't lost a match in how many Masters events? Since Shanghai, in almost 9 months.”

The German has underpinned Sinner’s supreme dominance.

In Madrid the world No.1 dispatched soaring Spanish youngster Jodar 6-2, 7-6(0) in the Elite 8, prior to nullifying the threat of French powerhouse Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4. Any type of opponent, the conditions, it’s become irrelevant – Sinner is the Masters of adapting and executing.

As a result, the 24-year-old has now clinched eight of the nine Masters 1000 titles, taking his career total of silverware to 28 trophies. The Fox’s last defeat came in Qatar back in February facing Jakub Mensik. It’s 23 wins on the trot and counting…

“I think there is a lot of work behind it,” said Sinner, who has surrendered just two sets across his five straight Masters 1000 title lifts.

“A lot of dedication and sacrifice I put in every day. Obviously, it means a lot to me, seeing these results. At some point, results are going to be down, which is normal.

“I’m very happy that I’ve continued to believe in myself. I’m showing up every day, at every practice session, trying to put in the right work with the right discipline. To do so, you need to have the right team behind you, which I have. I’m very happy about me, but also the team, and this means a lot to all of us.”

The last Masters 1000 missing in the Sinner trophy cabinet? Rome, which begins this week in the Italian’s homeland…

Kostyuk cracks code for glory

Nine years ago, Marta Kostyuk truly burst onto the scene as a gregarious 14-year-old winning the Australian Open girls’ title. A year later, the Ukrainian marked her Grand Slam debut with an Australian Open 2018 third round showing.

Could Kostyuk fulfil her potential? Injuries, ebbs and flows in form, tapping into a champion mindset – it all clicked in Madrid.

The 23-year-old is a maiden WTA 1000 winner following a gripping 6-3, 7-5 scoreline over Mirra Andreeva.

Adding on top of her Rouen triumph last month, Kostyuk is undefeated on clay in 2026 on 12-0 and toasted her biggest career title to date with a back flip.

The burden of early stardom has more than shifted.

“I think in the beginning of this year I told my team that I finally feel that the achievements that I had when I was 15 years old are not, it doesn't have a weight on me anymore,” recalled the new career-high world No.15. “Because I was living for many years in that state of everyone expecting big results from me. Almost winning, having such good results being so young was almost like a curse.

“It’s an incredibly long journey… But I'm happy I got out on the other side better. A better person, a better player. It definitely took a lot of struggling and a lot of difficult moments. For me, almost nothing changes. I'm a Masters champion right now, but I want to just keep doing the same thing and keep working and keep enjoying this journey. It's about the journey, it’s not about destination.”

Kostyuk, the second Ukrainian woman to win a WTA 1000 title after Elina Svitolina, set the tone for the milestone move with a 6-1, 6-4 passage past Top 10 star Jessica Pegula in the second round. Playing with such elastic athleticism (she was a child gymnast, hence the backflip) , versatility across the court, together with piercing strikes, Kostyuk could very well be a Top 10 star herself very soon.

Around the corner is Roland-Garros 2026 and Kostyuk’s magic in Madrid has catapulted the 23-year-old into the contender cauldron.