Marta Kostyuk earns glowing praise from Serena Williams – but not for her tennis: "I really like when she does backflips”

Marta Kostyuk is not just making an impact in the singles at the Cincinnati Open, but also the doubles. The Ukrainian was half of a doubles pairing that dumped out Serena and Venus Williams on the sisters first match together in four years. The 23-time Grand Slam champion was glowing with praise for the Madrid Open champion, but not specifically for her tennis, focusing instead on her gymnastic skills.

Partnering with Peyton Stearns, the pair managed to squeeze past the legendary Williams sisters 6-2, 1-6, 10-8, but were facing a late onslaught as they saw out the tie. It was a historic moment to see both Serena and Venus back competing alongside each other once more and they had the full support of the Cincinnati crowd.

However, after 30 minutes they had work to do with Kostyuk and Stearns going a set to the good. Half an hour later, the match was all level after a blast from the past by the Williams sisters who rolled back the years and showed their quality to send it the distance. Kostyuk and Stearns seemed to be in command when they went 8-2 ahead in the third set tiebreak, but would drop the next five points with the score now precariously 8-7, but still in their favour. They would eventually see it out while avoiding what would have been a very disappointing ending to a wonderful match of tennis.

Following the match, the Williams sisters sat in front of the media to divulge their doubles return. Serena, especially, had some touching things to say about Kostyuk.

“Marta [Kostyuk] is, I hit with her at Wimbledon, and she was just, it was just different. It was just so nice,” she recalled. However, the best was yet to come. “But it was still fun, and yeah, I really like, you know, when she does backflips!”

Speaking live on Sky Sports, the Ukrainian was glowing with pride as she reminisced on those comments made. “I think she was not talking about my tennis but about my backflips, but it’s such an honour to hear the words from her," she stated.

“We did practice together; I was so nervous. Even in the doubles match, I was so nervous that when I went on court to play singles I was like, this is nothing compared to the match that I played two days ago! She is a legend. We are very happy to have her back and still bringing people together. It shows how amazing tennis is.”

Kostyuk and Stearns were unable to plough on any further through the doubles tournament, losing out to the number three seeds Hanyu Guo and Kristina Mladenovic 3-6, 6-3, 10-6.

In truth, doubles was just the side project for Kostyuk in Cincinnati. In reality, it was all about the singles. After taking down former Grand Slam winners Sofia Kenin and Soane Stephens, the 24-year-old would come toe-to-toe with an old foe in the form of Mirra Andreeva.

The two had already played on three separate occasions this year. Kostyuk won the first two matches in Brisbane and most significantly in the final of the Madrid Open for a first WTA 1000 title. However, Andreeva got the most recent and possibly substantial win in the semi-finals of Roland Garros enroute to the title.

The 19-year-old Russian looked to be heading towards another statement win over the 10th seed after an early break was enough to seal her a one-set lead. From that point on, Andreeva won just two games in a stunning collapse. Kostyuk took less than an hour to dismantle her opponent, securing the bagel to win set number two ahead of a dominant third set that saw her win five points on the spin against the serve to confirm a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory.

In that same interview, she went into more detail over that fantastic win. “I knew this match was not going to be easy. Mirra is an amazing player. I lost to her in Paris. I was not feeling good at the beginning of the tournament here, so I told Sandra before the match, I don’t care how this match goes for me, I just want to find the game I want to play, as it’s the tournament before a Grand Slam, so it would be nice to feel more confident.”

It does not get much easier for the two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist. An inform Coco Gauff is her quarter-final opponent. It will be a first clash in well over a year with a huge opportunity for either of them blast a step closer to the final with the top half of the draw opening up thanks to the demise of Aryna Sabalenka last night.