By Tony FairbairnMirra Andreeva [8] def Maja Chwalinska [Q] 6-3 6-2Mirra Andreeva continues to promote self-belief as she won her first Grand Slam title in Paris.PARIS, FRANCE – Mirra Andreeva believes the reality of winning a Grand Slam is better than visualizing it as she claimed her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros with victory over Maja Chwalinska.
Mirra Andreeva [8] def Maja Chwalinska [Q] 6-3 6-2
Mirra Andreeva is the 2026 Roland Garros champion! The eighth seed overcame Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska in straight sets to win her first Grand Slam title. As a result Andreeva is the youngest champion at Roland Garros since Monica Seles in 1992. It was a brutal start to the match as the first game took seven minutes while the opening four games took 20 minutes to complete.
It was a challenging start to the match for Andreeva who needed to get used to the variety, spins and power of Chwalinska. The serve wasn’t effective for Chwalinska but the Pole used some aggressive patterns of play to fend off the opening two break points. However, Andreeva converted the next to break in the opening game. As expected Andreeva was slightly nervous and erratic in the opening stages which allowed Chwalinska to do some damage from the baseline as she broke immediately back.
There was no time for Andreeva to get disappointed as she stuck to her gameplan and dealt with the high bounces very well in sunny conditions. There were some long exchanges as Chwalinska did a good job of tracking down any Andreeva shots from the baseline. That didn’t faze Andreeva who broke back for a 2-1 lead. Once again there was an immediate response from the qualifier who showed no signs of nerves and the dropshot and lob combination was effective. A break back from Chwalinska was executed to perfection as she was finding her confidence on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
That confidence was only about get stronger as Chwalinska played some aggressive and proactive tennis to hold to love and for the first time in the contest the qualifier took the lead at 3-2. This match was about to test the patience and composure for Andreeva as she was not getting it her own way but some better serving saw her gain her first hold of serve in the following game.
A big next ten minutes would shape the entire contest as Andreeva began to find her flow and it was something Chwalinska struggled to deal with. There were aggressive and proactive points as the eighth seed surged past the struggling Pole towards the end of the opening set. Some well constructed points from Andreeva as the slice was sitting up for Andreeva to hit into. The 19 year-old won the next three games to take the opening set and that would be the start of a massive run of games for Andreeva.
More confident hitting was produced from Andreeva at the start of the second set as she hit through the Chwalinska defence and broke in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. This had been Chwalinska’s tenth match of the tournament that had lasted three weeks for the Pole and she had showed signs of fatigue. The world number 114 was determined to not make this a coronation for Andreeva as she created three break back points to try and get the break back.
The former semi-finalist wasn’t to be denied as five points in a row was soon to be nine games in a row as Andreeva was on the cusp of victory. There would be a mini-blip though as Chwalinska avoided second set humiliation and gained one of the breaks back as she got two games on the board in the second set.
It was Andreeva’s day though as she broke back to secure victory and her first Grand Slam title.
Dreams become reality for Andreeva
It’s the moment Andreeva has been wanting for so long but it’s now reality as she is a Grand Slam champion.
After some near-misses, Andreeva is at the top of the mountain as she capped off a sensational fortnight in style.
After her win over Chwalinska, Andreeva admitted that the reality is better than dreaming about being a Grand Slam champion as she has had visualizations of this moment for a while.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve done a lot of visualisations before,” Andreeva explained to the Roland Garros website.
“Not just this tournament, but I’ve had dreams, I’ve had a lot of thoughts on how it’s going to happen, if it’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, where.
“I would say that the feeling in real life is so much better, obviously, than in your dreams. It just feels looking at this trophy and realising that this is actually true, and I can call myself a Grand Slam champion, I guess.”
It’s been a couple of years in the making for Andreeva who has worked on her game on the court but also on her mind off the court.
The eighth seed detailed conversations with her psychologist over the last few days and how that has helped her game.
“I actually talked to my psychologist before [the] semifinal match and before [the] final match because I thought that it would help me be in the right state of mind before these, I would say, most important matches of my life,” Andreeva stated to the Roland Garros website.
“So I wanted to prepare my best. She gave me a lot of advice and a lot of techniques that I could try and use on the court to help myself to experience all of these things a little bit better and easier. That’s why I think that she deserves a lot of credit for this.”
Although her psychologist is taking quite the share of the credit there is only one person that Andreeva is giving full credit.
That person is herself as she acknowledged the hard work that she is put into making her dreams a reality.
“I think it’s all going to stay the same. Maybe it’s going to change for the next two or three days, but other than that, I think I’m going to stay the same. I’m not going to change a lot,” Andreeva told the Roland Garros website about the impacts of her title win.
“In the beginning I just said it to joke around and so everyone would laugh at how funny I am and at my humour. Then after I realised why not to thank yourself? Because you are the one that works, you are the one that is doing the job, you’re the one that’s feeling all the nerves.
“After some time, I realised that it’s actually very important to thank yourself.”
Chwalinska makes confidence gains amid ‘unforgettable’ Roland Garros
It was quite the tournament for Chwalinska who played ten matches over three weeks to make the run of her dreams.
In the end Chwalinska just ran out of gas in her first ever Grand Slam final but has plenty to be positive about.
The Pole said that she is proud of herself and described the entire run as ‘unforgettable’
“I’ve never really played against the high-ranked players before, I feel like I definitely gained a lot of confidence,” Chwalinska explained to the Roland Garros website.
“All credits to Mirra, because she’s such an incredible player, so solid. She handled the conditions much, much better than me, so she 100 per cent deserved to win. But I think I can be proud of myself.
“Definitely unforgettable three weeks for me, such a great time.”
It’s been quite the ride for Chwalinska who gained a lot of attention and will now face new expectations and challenges.
However, that will not change the Pole’s mindset and work ethic as she will continue to work hard on her tennis.
“It will be different, for sure, but I think and I hope I’ll adapt,” Chwalinska told the Roland Garros website.
“I definitely will work hard, as I am working hard. I’ll give my all to be better each and every day, and I’ll see what the results will be. Definitely very grateful for this time, but it’s in the past now. I just need to continue to stay present and give my all.”
The rankings next week will show a seismic rise for Chwalinska who will rise up the rankings by 93 places from 114 to 21 in the world.
It’s the mindset of the Pole that she hopes that will inspire other players in a similar position to achieve a similar result in the future.
“I know many, many great players that are ranked outside the top 100,” Chwalinska claimed to the Roland Garros website.
“It’s such a thin line now. I feel like a lot of things need to click. I hope that my story these last days was inspiring for them. I’ll see them in the, let’s say, top 50 now.”
The next challenge for Chwalinska is the grass court season where she will await a decision as to if she gets a wildcard into the Wimbledon main draw.
However before Wimbledon, Chwalinska will be taking a well deserved vacation as she plans to soak in what has happened in the last three weeks.
“The last years it’s been a struggle for me on grass, but before I loved playing on grass,” Chwalinska acknowledged to the Roland Garros website.
“I feel like I can use a lot of touch and slices. I move pretty well on the court and I anticipate pretty well. It’s always exciting because it’s such a short period of time that we have on grass. I guess I’ll see, but I’m ready for the challenge.”
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