Andreeva wins her first Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros, the dawn of a new era
Mirra Andreeva (No 8), 19, beat Polish qualifier Maja Chwalińska 6-3, 6-2 in 1h18 on Court Philippe-Chatrier to win her first Grand Slam title. She’s the youngest winner of the tournament since 1992 and thanked her psychologist for being such in control.
Mirra Andreeva and Maja Chwalinska, Roland-Garros 2026 | © Aurelien Morissard/AP/SIPA
She did not let her chance slip. Russian Mirra Andreeva, the No. 8 seed, beat Polish qualifier Maja Chwalińska 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 18 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Saturday to win Roland-Garros, her first Grand Slam title at the age of 19, the closing chapter of a 2026 season in which she has now won 36 matches, more than any other woman on tour.
At the moment of victory the 19-year-old collapsed to her knees on the clay. She then walked directly into the stands to embrace her mother and her close ones and her coach Conchita Martínez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion who has guided her career since 2024. The trophy was presented to her by Mary Pierce, the 2000 Roland-Garros champion, on the court that Pierce won 26 years ago and on which Martínez had lost the 2000 final to her. “I don’t know if I should thank you, Mary, because you beat my coach once here in the final, so, yeah, I’m broken”, Andreeva laughed, receiving the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen.
Andreeva was the superior player from the opening exchange, and only her own tension could have prevented her from closing the match quickly. The first four games of the contest were four breaks – neither player held a single service game – before Chwalińska steadied herself to take her first hold for 3-2.
9 games in a row
From there Andreeva won nine games in a row, taking the first set 6-3 and racing to 5-0 in the second. The expected formality lay one game away. A brief stretch of tension followed: Chwalińska held to 1-5, broke Andreeva to 2-5, and looked, for two games, like a player who might yet find a foothold. Andreeva closed her out anyway. The 19-year-old broke Chwalińska’s serve to take the match 6-3, 6-2.
The historical company Andreeva now keeps is the kind reserved for the players whose careers define eras. After 20 main-draw matches at Roland-Garros, only Chris Evert (19), Margaret Court (19) and Monica Seles (19) had more wins than the Russian’s 18 – tied with Iga Świątek for fourth in the all-time list. She is the third-youngest player this century to win a women’s singles major, after Emma Raducanu (18, US Open 2021) and Maria Sharapova (17, Wimbledon 2004). She’s the youngest winner of Roland-Garros since Monica Seles in 1992.
36 matches won in 2026
She has now won 36 matches on the women’s tour in 2026, more than any other woman this season. The Roland-Garros trophy is her sixth career WTA title.
Andreeva, who turned 19 on April 29 of this year, defeated Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, the No. 15 seed (6-1, 6-3), Romanian Sorana Cîrstea, the No. 18 seed (6-0, 6-3), Swiss Jil Teichmann (6-3, 6-2), Czech Marie Bouzková, the No. 27 seed (6-4, 6-2), Spaniard Marina Bassols Ribera (3-6, 6-1, 6-1) and Frenchwoman Fiona Ferro (6-3, 6-3) on her way to the title.
The Russian is the youngest first-time Grand Slam champion since Iga Świątek won Roland-Garros 2020 at the same age. The two players have, with this win, shared the same milestone at the same court at the same age. It is the kind of company the rest of the women’s tour will need to learn to compete with for the rest of the decade.
“Thanks to my psychologist”
During her speech, she had “a special thanks to (her) psychologist, Alexis, watching somewhere in Florida”. “Thank you for all the advice, for working with me for over a year now — two years, or one? One and a half. Thank you for making me better, and for giving me so many tools. Everything you’ve told me, I’ve been trying to use these two weeks, and I’d say it worked not bad.”
Maja Chwalińska said that Andreeva had been too good for her. “I’d like to thank all of you who came today – and not only today, but throughout these three weeks”, said the Polish. “I felt your love, and I’m very, very grateful. I wish you could have seen a better match today, but Mirra was just too good for me – so I guess it’s her fault. I tried my best. I’m sorry.”
