Mirra Andreeva, Russian teenager, fulfilled her prodigious promise on Saturday, capturing her first Grand Slam title with a commanding 6-3, 6-2 victory over Polish qualifier Maja Chwalińska in the women’s singles final at French Open.
The triumph makes the 19-year-old the youngest women’s singles champion at Roland Garros since Monica Seles, who won her third consecutive French Open title at age 18 in 1992.
Ranked eighth in the world, Andreeva dominated the final against the 114th-ranked Chwalińska, whose remarkable run from the qualifying rounds had captivated fans throughout the tournament. The Polish player was bidding to become the first qualifier in history to win the French Open women’s singles title.
Andreeva sealed victory with a stunning cross-court backhand winner on her first championship point before dropping to her knees in celebration on the Paris clay.
Andreeva’s rise has been closely watched since she burst onto the international scene as a 15-year-old at the 2023 Madrid Open. There, she became one of the youngest players ever to win a main-draw match at a WTA 1000 event and reached the quarter-finals, marking herself as a future Grand Slam contender.
Her path to success has not been without challenges. Like other Russian players, Andreeva has competed under a neutral flag amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. In the semi-finals, she defeated Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk, who declined a post-match handshake in line with the stance adopted by many Ukrainian players since the war began in 2022.
The victory also surpasses the achievement of her coach, Conchita Martínez, who finished runner-up at Roland Garros in 2000.
Despite her underdog status, Chwalińska enjoyed strong support from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Polish fans waved red-and-white flags and repeatedly chanted her name throughout the match.
However, Andreeva adapted better to the windy conditions and successfully neutralised Chwalińska’s mix of spins, slices and drop shots to take control of the contest.
Earlier in the day, top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos successfully defended their men’s doubles title with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Harri Heliövaara and Henry Patten.
Attention now turns to Sunday’s men’s singles final, where Alexander Zverev will face Flavio Cobolli as a dramatic French Open draws to a close.
