Andreeva wins French Open as Chwalinska fairytale ends

Teenager Mirra Andreeva won her first Grand Slam title as Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska was denied a fairytale French Open victory.

Andreeva, 19, fulfilled the potential she has long shown with a 6-3 6-2 victory over an opponent who was a 500-1 outsider before the tournament.

Russian eighth seed Andreeva is the youngest woman to win the Roland Garros title since Monica Seles in 1992.

After securing victory in one hour and 22 minutes, Andreeva fell to the court in elation before quickly running up to the stands for a warm embrace with her coach Conchita Martinez - herself a former major champion after winning Wimbledon in 1994.

"I've been watching Roland Garros since I was very young and it has always been a dream to win this trophy," Andreeva said.

Andreeva overcame a tense start, where nerves and a swirling wind led to the final starting with four successive breaks of serve.

It was world number 114 Chwalinska who held first - much to the delight of the 15,000-strong crowd who gave her vociferous support throughout.

Despite thousands of Polish fans cheering Chwalinska on, Andreeva showed her increased maturity to maintain her composure and reel off the next nine games to take a 6-3 5-0 lead.

There was more tension when Andreeva was unable to serve out victory at the first attempt, but she recovered to take her first championship point on Chwalinska's serve with a backhand winner.

How Andreeva fulfilled her great potential

Expectation has followed Andreeva ever since her WTA Tour breakthrough at the 2023 Madrid Open, where her talent and fearlessness led to praise from Britain's former world number one Andy Murray.

It felt like a matter of time until she won one of the sport's biggest prizes, but developing your game and dealing with the hype under intense scrutiny can take time.

Andreeva, who was born in Siberia and trained in France, reached the French Open semi-finals in 2024 and has continued to improve under the tutelage of Martinez.

She thanked Martinez in her on-court speech for "sharing her experiences and giving me so much advice" over the two years they have worked together.

Andreeva continued to make great strides in 2025, winning two WTA 1000 titles and cracking the world's top five.

A tempestuous streak on the court has often served as a reminder of her tender age, but she has shown real maturity in Paris as she navigated the tough challenges that come with winning a Grand Slam.

The calm manner in which she powered past Ukrainian 15th seed Marta Kostyuk in Thursday's semi-finals - a match played against a backdrop of political tension - was particularly impressive.

Dealing with the occasion was also key to ultimately lifting the trophy.

Andreeva may have been the heavy favourite based on ranking and pedigree, but Chwalinska has proved to be a tricky opponent who plays with real variety.

Andreeva did not let that overwhelm her, eventually finding her rhythm and range from the baseline to overpower her increasingly frustrated opponent.

Once she moved a break ahead in the second set, her place in the illustrious list of Grand Slam champions never looked in doubt.

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