Mirra Andreeva, 19, Wins French Open
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Mirra Andreeva, 19, defeated Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 in the French Open final Saturday, claiming her first Grand Slam title and finishing the tournament with 25 winners to Chwalinska's 10 and fewer unforced errors (26-29).
- Andreeva became the youngest woman to win the clay-court Grand Slam since Monica Seles, who was 18 when she claimed her third straight French Open in 1992; she thanked herself and her psychologist — watching from Florida — for fighting 'so many demons inside.'
- Coach Conchita Martinez, a former Wimbledon champion who lost the 2000 French Open final to Mary Pierce, said Andreeva's 'attitude is difficult' but that she 'has no limits' when she listens and works hard; Mary Pierce presented the winner's trophy.
- Runner-up Maja Chwalinska, attempting to become the first qualifier to win Roland Garros, opened up about struggling with depression since 2019: 'We are basically kids when we start. People are expecting that we are going to behave like adults already and we are just kids really.'
- In the semifinal, Marta Kostyuk refused to shake Andreeva's hand, continuing a custom by Ukrainian players against Russian competitors since the 2022 invasion; Andreeva has played under neutral status without Russia's flag and said she 'never thinks about those things when I play.'
- Andreeva won nine straight games after Chwalinska took a 3-2 lead, using aggressive forward movement to counter wind that Chwalinska said she handled much better: 'She was not running away from the ball.'
Why it matters: At 19, Andreeva becomes the youngest French Open women's champion in 34 years, with her coach saying she 'has no limits' when she listens — but her rise carries political weight, confirmed by Kostyuk's handshake refusal and her neutral-flag status. Chwalinska's run, a qualifier's run to the final while openly battling depression, reframes the loss as its own kind of breakthrough.
