Mirra Andreeva won the French Open and secured her first Grand Slam title. The 19-year-old Russian won the Roland Garros final 6:3, 6:2 against Polish qualifier and tournament surprise Maja Chwalinska.
Mirra Andreeva sank to her knees and covered her face with her hands, and during the celebrations in the stands she also cuddled a dog: The Russian teenager prevented a Hollywood-like end to Maja Chwalinska’s fairytale journey and won the French Open. The favorite played the big party crasher in the final in Paris by beating the Polish qualifier 6:3, 6:2; it was her first Grand Slam success.
“It was a big dream of mine to win this tournament”Andreeva said: “I can’t believe I’m holding this trophy right now.”
Andreeva, who confidently stormed to triumph in 1:22 hours in front of film star Brad Pitt, is, at the age of 19, the youngest winner in Paris since Monica Seles in 1992. The nine-time major winner won her third title on the Seine as an 18-year-old.
First born after 2005 Grand Slam winner
The world number eight was the first player born after 2005 to reach a Grand Slam final; no one among men has ever achieved this feat. With the highlight of her career so far, Andreeva secured proud prize money of 2.4 million euros alongside Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, and she climbed to sixth place in the ranking on Monday.
As a result of the defeat, Chwalinska missed the second Grand Slam triumph of a qualifier after Great Britain’s Emma Raducanu at the US Open 2021. “Congratulations to Mirra, you are such an incredible player”said the 24-year-old and added with a smile: “You’re so young and talented, it’s annoying.”
Participation in the final was still an incredible success. The Pole had initially played her way into the main draw of the clay court highlight for the first time with three victories, and after nine successes at the Bois de Boulogne she is now collecting generous prize money of 1.4 million euros.
Qualifier Chwalinska has already made history by reaching the final
As number 114 in the world, Chwalinska entered the final as the lowest-ranked player since the ranking was introduced, replacing her compatriot and four-time tournament winner Iga Swiatek, who was 54th in her first triumph in Paris in 2020. Chwalinska now jumps up to 21st place in the ranking.
“I feel like I’m in a bubble. I don’t know what’s going on right now,” Chwalinska, who describes herself as a “tennis freak,” said before the final. There was now a big “Maja-Mania” in Paris; numerous Poles had secured tickets for the final and were constantly cheering on the underdog with loud chants.
Chwalinska twitches again briefly
Chwalinska quickly showed off her entire repertoire, repeatedly relying on her unusual mix of slice shots, stops and moonballs. In windy conditions, it was Andreeva who grabbed the first break after seven minutes. But that didn’t bother Chwalinska, she got the rebreak straight away. The trend initially continued, in the fifth game the Pole served for the first time in this final.
But suddenly Andreeva, who has significantly more power in her game than her opponent, who is only 1.64 m tall, put her stamp on the duel. The Russian now found the right answers and secured set one with four games in a row.
Andreeva stayed on top in the second round. Chwalinska braced herself against the impending defeat, but even the cheering from the audience didn’t help.