Russian Mirra Andreeva, 8th in the world rankings, won this Saturday, at the age of 19, her first Grand Slam title by defeating the sensation of the tournament, Polish Maja Chwalinska (114th), 6-3, 6-2 in 1h22, in the Roland Garros final.
At 19 years and 39 days, the Krasnoyarsk native becomes the youngest player to win in Paris since American Monica Seles, who was 16 and a half when she won the first of her three consecutive titles at Roland Garros in 1990.
The world number 114 had captivated Roland Garros with her tactical intelligence and fearless variety in a nine-game winning streak that began in qualifying, but the magic abandoned her in the final, despite the support of hundreds of Polish fans.
On a court that suddenly seemed vast and unforgiving, Chwalinska looked a shadow of the player who had overcome opponent after opponent to reach the championship-deciding match.
As eighth seed Andreeva’s groundstrokes found their range and her confidence grew, Chwalinska’s touch deserted her.
The Pole’s signature drop shots and changes of pace yielded diminishing returns, and the Russian teenager took control to complete a breakthrough triumph that confirmed her arrival among the tennis elite.
The first set was a nervous encounter, with both players struggling to calm down under the pressure of a Grand Slam final.
Chwalinska, only the second player since tennis became professional in 1968 to reach a Grand Slam final from qualifying after Britain’s Emma Raducanu won the 2021 US Open, survived a marathon first service game in which she saved three break points with a combination of skillful drop shots and fearless forehand winners, but neither player managed to establish control.
Breaks were exchanged repeatedly as errors flowed from both rackets, with Andreeva committing two double faults in a service game while Chwalinska’s forehand failed repeatedly.
At 3-3, however, the balance changed decisively.
Andreeva began to find greater depth and weight in her powerful groundstrokes, forcing Chwalinska onto the defensive and causing errors from the Pole’s racket.
The Russian broke for 4-3 when Chwalinska sent a cut backhand into the net, confirmed it for 5-3 and then took advantage of a nervous final service game to close out the set.
Andreeva then broke to go 2-0 up after another unforced forehand error from Chwalinska, who wasted three break points and lost serve again to go 4-0 behind.
Chwalinska returned a break and fought back to make it 5-2, but Andreeva, the first teenager to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup since Iga Swiatek in 2020, sealed victory and the title on her opponent’s serve with a backhand crosscourt winner.
PATH TO THE FINAL
- First round: beat Fiona Ferro (France) 6-3 6-3
- Second round: beat Marina Bassols Ribera (Spain) 3-6 6-1 6-1
- Third round: beat Marie Bouzkova (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-2
- Fourth round: beat Jil Teichmann (Switzerland) 6-3 6-2
- Quarter-finals: beat Sorana Cirstea (Romania) 6-0 6-3
- Semi-final: beat Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) 6-1 6-3
- Final: beat Maja Chwalinska (Poland) 6-3, 6-2
CAREER TO DATE
- He began his professional career on the circuit in 2022, winning six titles.
- He rose to prominence in 2023, reaching the third round of Roland Garros in his first appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, before reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon weeks later.
- Reached the semifinals of Roland Garros in 2024, losing to Jasmine Paolini. She won silver at the Paris Olympics in women’s doubles, competing as a neutral individual athlete alongside Diana Shnaider. She won her first WTA title at the Iasi Open.
- She became the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 title when she defeated Clara Tauson in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2025, aged 17. She then beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka to win the Indian Wells title.
- He won titles in Linz and Adelaide in 2026, in addition to reaching the final in Madrid.
- She beat Chwalinska in the Roland Garros final on Saturday to become the first Russian to win a Grand Slam since Maria Sharapova won the Roland Garros title in 2014.
