result came just two days after Kostyuk, who refused to shake Andreeva\u2019s hand, took a swipe at her Russian rivals.<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cYou know, after four years, I think they\u2019ve made it very clear whose side they are on,\u201d she said following her quarter final win.<\/p>\n
So, again, this is their burden to carry and this is what they live with, not me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andreeva was thrilled with the win<\/p>\n
Russia’s Mirra Andreeva reacts after winning the semifinal tennis match against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk at the French Open in Paris, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)Source: AP<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super happy with the way I played and then that I got revenge for Madrid final and I\u2019m happy that I\u2019m in my first-everGrand Slam final,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Andreeva was the only one of the women\u2019s semi-finalists to have reached this stage at one of the four majors — she lost toJasmine Paolini at the last-four stage of Roland Garros in 2024. <\/p>\n
– \u2018Very, very excited\u2019 – On Thursday she went one step further.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m nervous but at the same time I\u2019m very, very excited,\u201d added Andreeva of playing her first major title-decider.<\/p>\n
For Kostyuk, the loss brought to an end a 17-match winning run on the red dirt that also brought her titles in Rouen and Madridand into her first Grand Slam semi-final. <\/p>\n
What lay behind her surge, she was asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of therapy,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t like to be with myself. \u201cI think when the full-scale war started, I realised I neededto change my perspective on life, because it\u2019s clearly not just tennis.\u201d <\/p>\n
Kostyuk added: \u201cThe battles that I have won against myself and in my head, Grand Slams is nothing compared to it.\u201d \u201cI went through such an incredible journey of becoming a differentplayer, different person.<\/p>\n
Russia’s Mirra Andreeva reacts after winning the semifinal tennis match against Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk at the French Open in Paris, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Emma Da Silva)Source: AP<\/p>\n
WORLD NO. 114 INTO FINAL<\/p>\n
Polish world number 114 Maja Chwalinska admitted she felt \u201coverwhelmed\u201d by her shock runfrom qualifying to the final of the French Open, following her semi-final victory over Diana Shnaider on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old\u2019s 7-6 (7\/4), 6-4 victory over Russian 25th seed Shnaider made her only the second woman to come through qualifyingand reach a Grand Slam final in any major since the Open era began, after Emma Raducanu\u2019s title run at the US Open in 2021. <\/p>\n
Chwalinska will meet Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva in Saturday\u2019s title-decider.<\/p>\n
After sending a forehand winner past Shnaider on her first match point on Court Philippe Chatrier and collapsing to the ground,Chwalinska told reporters she felt \u201cso many emotions\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was just in such a shock. You know, just, I don\u2019t know, joy, surprise,\u201d she added of that victorious moment on court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just very, I feel like, overwhelmed also.\u201d Appearing in her first main draw in Paris, Chwalinska, who had on threeprevious occasions failed to qualify for Roland Garros, has won nine matches across her three-week French Open campaign to stand on the brink of glory. <\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have many experiences, many opportunities before to play against such great players and high-ranked players,\u201d shesaid. <\/p>\n
Poland’s Maja Chwalinska reacts after winning the semifinal tennis match against Russia’s Diana Shnaider at the French Open in Paris, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Christophe Ena)Source: AP<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s actually the first time that I have this opportunity. I\u2019m happy that I\u2019m taking it.\u201d<\/p>\n
– \u2018Just one more match\u2019 –<\/p>\n
Chwalinska said her run to the final was \u201clike a dream\u201d moments after beating Shnaider.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on, I just, I dunno what to say. I\u2019m sorry, I\u2019m just very happy,\u201d she added to raucous applauseon Court Philippe Chatrier. <\/p>\n
One aspect of her run has been her ice-cold composure on court across. \u201cI\u2019m crazy sometimes also, yeah,\u201d Chwalinska said ofher emotions. \u201cBut I try to stay composed because I know it\u2019s the best way for me… But inside there\u2019s a storm believe me.\u201d She added that despite her cool, calm exterior, she was acutely aware that she was on the edge of achieving something monumental. <\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s not pretend someone expected it,\u201d Chwalinska said. \u201cI mean, I was outside the top 100, and now I\u2019m in the finals ofa Grand Slam, so I feel like it\u2019s a big thing.\u201d In an intriguing clash of styles between the variety of Chwalinska\u2019s gameand the power-hitting of Shnaider, it was the diminutive Pole who earned the first break to get 3-1 ahead before the Russianstruck back. <\/p>\n
PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 04: Maja Chwalinska of Poland and Diana Shnaider embrace following their Women’s Singles semi-final match on Day Twelve of the 2026 French Open at Roland Garros on June 04, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Brunskill\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
After edging the first set on a tie-break, the second frame was level until Shnaider requested a medical time-out for a backmassage. After that stoppage, at 4-3, Chwalinska won the next three games to claim victory. <\/p>\n
\u201cI will give my all, it\u2019s a Grand Slam final,\u201d Chwalinska said, looking forward. \u201cLet me enjoy this moment for now… I justwant to breathe a little, enjoy it today then just recover as best I can,\u201d she added of preparations for her 10th and finalmatch of the tournament. <\/p>\n
Should Chwalinska lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen come the weekend, she will enter the top 15 in the WTA rankings. By reachingthe final she is already ensured of climbing to world number 21. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow I know that my ranking will allow me to play more at the highest-ranked tournaments,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess we\u2019ll see how I will continue. For now I\u2019m just trying to focus on just one more match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mirra Andreeva was so focused she could \u201csee the hairs on the ball\u201d as she beat an erratic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[2095,64,63,3587,347651,11301,2057,347648,2592,259986,347658,2557,100456,41706,140960,347657,2041,2067,2591,5427,347293,4873,668,99083,347653,347650,347655,347654,27509,347296,97530,11094,158186,158080,70401,347656,3595,2020,85,344039,347652,747,3741,5525,347649,347659,2614,2062,34750,10911],"class_list":["post-716478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-america","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-break-point","tag-court-roof","tag-eastern-europe","tag-europe","tag-finals-ofa","tag-france","tag-handshake-snub","tag-last-four-stage","tag-madrid","tag-marta-kostyuk","tag-match-point","tag-matteo-arnaldi","tag-neededto-change","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-paris","tag-poland","tag-polish-world-number","tag-post-match-press-conference","tag-press-conference","tag-province-of-madrid","tag-qualifyingand-reach","tag-quarter-final-win","tag-reachingthe-final","tag-russian-rivals","tag-semi-final","tag-semi-final-results","tag-semi-final-victory","tag-semi-finals","tag-semi-final-match","tag-semifinal-tennis-match","tag-service-game","tag-shock-runfrom-qualifying","tag-southern-europe","tag-spain","tag-sports","tag-suzanne-lenglen","tag-teenage-opponent","tag-tennis","tag-todd-woodbridge","tag-ukraine","tag-ukrainian-opponent","tag-unforced-errors","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-western-europe","tag-winning-run","tag-world-number"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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