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HomeNewsMirra Andreeva Wins French Open Women’s Title for First Grand Slam Crown

Mirra Andreeva Wins French Open Women’s Title for First Grand Slam Crown

Mirra Andreeva’s rise from teenage contender to Grand Slam champion is complete. The 19-year-old won the French Open women’s title on Saturday, beating Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier to claim the first major championship of her career.

Andreeva entered the final as the clear favorite and played like it. She controlled the match from the baseline, used her movement to keep Chwalinska under pressure, and avoided the kind of extended emotional swings that can define first-time Grand Slam finals. The result gave the No. 8 seed the biggest title of her career and confirmed her place among the leading players in women’s tennis.

For Chwalinska, the loss ended one of the most unexpected runs at Roland Garros in recent memory. The 24-year-old came through qualifying and reached the final after winning nine matches in Paris, turning what began as a long-shot campaign into a career-changing tournament. Ranked No. 114, she became just the second qualifier in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam singles final, joining Emma Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open.

The final, however, proved a step too far. Chwalinska had shown composure throughout the tournament, but Andreeva gave her little room to build momentum. The Russian teenager broke through in the opening set and then tightened her grip in the second, responding quickly whenever Chwalinska appeared ready to extend the match.

Andreeva’s title also adds another milestone to a career that has been moving quickly for several seasons. She reached the French Open semifinals in 2024, made steady progress across the Grand Slam stage, and arrived in Paris this year as one of the few players in the draw with both the form and the temperament to take advantage of a wide-open tournament.

Her path to the trophy included wins over Fiona Ferro, Marina Bassols Ribera, Marie Bouzkova, Jil Teichmann, Sorana Cirstea and Marta Kostyuk before the final. In the semifinals, Andreeva defeated Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 to reach her first Grand Slam final.

Saturday’s victory made Andreeva the first teenager to win the French Open women’s title since Iga Swiatek in 2020. She is also the youngest Roland Garros women’s champion since Monica Seles in 1992, a comparison that underlines the scale of the achievement even without adding unnecessary weight to what comes next.

The win also ended a long wait for Russian women at the majors. Andreeva became the first Russian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title since Maria Sharapova captured the French Open in 2014.

Chwalinska leaves Paris with no trophy but with a radically changed profile. Before this tournament, she had never made a major impact in a Grand Slam main draw. Over two weeks in Paris, she moved from qualifying outsider to finalist, beating higher-ranked opponents and giving Polish tennis another major storyline beyond Iga Swiatek.

Andreeva leaves with something larger. At 19, she is no longer only a rising player with promise. She is a Grand Slam champion, and her first major title came on the same clay where she had already shown signs that Paris could become one of the defining stages of her career.

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Steven Hodel
Steven Hodel
Steven Hodel is the Tennis Correspondent for The Tico Times, covering the ATP and WTA tours, the four Grand Slams, the Masters 1000 series, and the Latin American professional and junior circuits. Based in Costa Rica, he writes for English-speaking readers across Central America and the wider region, with particular focus on Latin American players on tour and the growing tennis community in Costa Rica. He works in English and Spanish, drawing on regional sources from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and the Costa Rican Tennis Federation. Reach him at steve@ticotimes.net or ion X at @theticotimes
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