Mirra Andreeva needed two hours and 14 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier to become the youngest French Open women’s singles champion since Iva Majoli in 1997, the 19-year-old Russian dismantling qualifier Maja Chwalinska 6-2, 6-4 to claim her first Grand Slam title. Then she did something nobody on the Roland Garros microphone saw coming. “I want to thank my coach, I want to thank my team, and most importantly, I want to thank myself,” Andreeva said, gold trophy at her hip, the Chatrier crowd half-laughing, half-applauding. “Because I worked really hard and I believed when nobody else did.”
It was the line of the fortnight, delivered with the deadpan timing that has become Andreeva’s calling card since she emerged at this same tournament as a 15-year-old qualifier in 2023. Three years on, she is a major champion, the world No. 4 in Monday’s rankings, and the first teenager to win a Grand Slam since Bianca Andreescu at the 2019 US Open.
A final settled by nerve, not power
Chwalinska, the 24-year-old Pole ranked 138th coming into Paris, had been the story of the second week — a qualifier reaching her first major final, beating Jasmine Paolini and Madison Keys back-to-back. But Andreeva, coached by Conchita Martinez since the start of 2025, played the occasion better than her opponent played the ball. She broke for 3-1 in the opening set with a backhand down the line that Martinez later called “the shot of her career so far,” then closed out the set in 34 minutes.
The second was tighter. Chwalinska held for 4-4 with a love game built around two ace serves out wide, but Andreeva broke immediately, dropping just one point on her own serve in the final two games. She finished with 24 winners to 18 unforced errors — a ratio Martinez has spent 18 months trying to build into her game. Chwalinska, by contrast, hit 31 unforced errors, many of them on the backhand wing that Andreeva targeted relentlessly with high, heavy topspin.
“I told myself before the match, just play your tennis,” Andreeva said. “Conchita told me, you are the better player, you have to act like it.”
The Martinez effect and a generational shift
Hiring Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion, in December 2024 has been the defining decision of Andreeva’s young career. Under the Spaniard, Andreeva has added a kick second serve, improved her movement on clay, and — by her own admission — learned to control the on-court tantrums that once cost her matches. She reached the Indian Wells and Dubai finals earlier this season, winning the latter, and arrived in Paris seeded fifth.
Her run included wins over Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the semis, the latter a 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 victory that announced her as the player to beat on the women’s tour. She is now the youngest major champion since Iga Swiatek won here aged 19 in 2020, and the first Russian woman to lift the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen since Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009.
- Youngest French Open women’s champion since Iva Majoli (1997)
- First teenager to win a Slam since Bianca Andreescu (2019 US Open)
- Set to rise to world No. 2 in Monday’s WTA rankings
- 17-2 record in 2026, the best on tour
What comes next
Andreeva will skip Berlin and Bad Homburg to prepare for Wimbledon, where she reached the fourth round last year. Grass remains her weakest surface, but Martinez — a Wimbledon champion herself — has been working with her on slice and net approach since Madrid. The bookmakers have already made her third favourite for SW19 behind Sabalenka and defending champion Barbora Krejcikova.
The bigger question is whether this title marks the start of a Swiatek-style era of dominance or a single peak in a deep, unpredictable field. Sabalenka, Gauff, Swiatek and the resurgent Elena Rybakina are all 27 or younger. But Andreeva, who does not turn 20 until April 2027, has just done something none of them did before their 20th birthday.
Asked on Chatrier what she would say to the 15-year-old qualifier who lost in the third round here in 2023, Andreeva smiled. “I would say, keep going. And maybe, thank yourself a little bit more often.”
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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