{"id":688473,"date":"2026-06-06T19:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T19:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/688473\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T19:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T19:34:15","slug":"russian-teenager-mirra-andreeva-wins-french-open-to-claim-her-first-grand-slam-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/688473\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva wins French Open to claim her first Grand Slam title"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARIS (AP) \u2014 Bent over with her hands covering her face, her knees getting dirtied on the red clay court, Mirra Andreeva<\/a> was celebrating \u2014 processing might be the more appropriate word \u2014 how she had finally overcome \u201cso many demons inside\u201d that came with being a teenage tennis phenom.<\/p>\n

After bursting onto the scene at 15, Andreeva became a Grand Slam champion at 19 when the Russian ended the run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska<\/a> with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the French Open<\/a> final on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve done a lot of visualizations before. Not just this tournament, but I\u2019ve had dreams, I\u2019ve had a lot of thoughts on how it\u2019s going to happen, if it\u2019s going to happen, when it\u2019s going to happen, where,\u201d Andreeva said, still hardly breathing as she talked quickly in true teenage style. \u201cThe feeling in real life is so much better than in your dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can call myself a Grand Slam champion,\u201d Andreeva added.<\/p>\n

The biggest challenges for Andreeva have not been on the court \u2014 she already has one of the best attacking baseline games in the sport \u2014 it\u2019s been the mental side. And her stubbornness.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Winner<\/p>\n

Winner Russia\u2019s Mirra Andreeva, left, and second placed Poland\u2019s Maja Chwalinska pose with trophies after the final tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/p>\n

Winner Russia\u2019s Mirra Andreeva, left, and second placed Poland\u2019s Maja Chwalinska pose with trophies after the final tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/p>\n

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\u201cHer attitude is difficult,\u201d said Conchita Martinez, Andreeva\u2019s coach and a former Wimbledon champion. \u201cYou tell her something, and maybe she\u2019s not open to listening. … When she works hard and when she listens and she does everything, she has no limits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andreeva acknowledged as much during the trophy ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know I can be a tough cookie sometimes and it\u2019s pretty hard to put up with me,\u201d Andreeva said.<\/p>\n

The victory took Andreeva one step further than Martinez, who lost the 2000 French Open final to Mary Pierce.<\/p>\n

Pierce presented the winner\u2019s trophy to Andreeva, who became the youngest woman to win the clay-court Grand Slam since Monica Seles was 18 when she claimed her third straight French Open in 1992.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re so young and talented. It\u2019s so annoying,\u201d the 24-year-old Chwalinska told Andreeva.<\/p>\n

Andreeva took the unusual step of thanking herself \u201cfor believing in myself, always giving my 100%, even when it\u2019s tough, trying every day to be better as a person and as a player, believing that I can do this, fighting so many demons inside of me.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly I know how tough it was for me,\u201d Andreeva added. \u201cHow nervous I was throughout these two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Russia's<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Mirra Andreeva ewacts after winning the final tennis match against Poland\u2019s Maja Chwalinska at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Mirra Andreeva ewacts after winning the final tennis match against Poland\u2019s Maja Chwalinska at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/p>\n

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Andreeva also thanked her psychologist, who she said was watching from Florida: \u201cEverything that you\u2019ve told me I\u2019ve been trying to use these two weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chwalinska opens up about depression<\/p>\n

Chwalinska was attempting to become the first qualifier to capture the Roland Garros title. She was a promising junior alongside four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek before she began struggling with depression in 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cTennis is such a tough sport. It\u2019s so individual. We start so early. We are basically kids when we start,\u201d Chwalinska said. \u201cPeople are expecting that we are going to behave like adults already and we are just kids really. So the pressure is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andreeva was born in Siberia and moved to Sochi and eventually France to develop her tennis career.<\/p>\n

She drew a loud applause from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier when she spoke a few words of French during the trophy presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks for your support today and over these past two marvelous weeks here in Paris,\u201d Andreeva said in French. \u201cIt was very important for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breakthrough at 15<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Russia's<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Mirra Andreeva reacts after winning the semifinal tennis match against Ukraine\u2019s Marta Kostyuk at the French Open in Paris, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Mirra Andreeva reacts after winning the semifinal tennis match against Ukraine\u2019s Marta Kostyuk at the French Open in Paris, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Thibault Camus)<\/p>\n

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Andreeva has been considered a Grand Slam contender since she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old at the 2023 Madrid Open, where she became the third-youngest player to win a main draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament and made the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n

Lately, Andreeva has had to contend with playing under neutral status and without her country\u2019s flag because of the war with Ukraine.<\/p>\n

When she beat Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals, Kostyuk refused to shake her hand, as has been the custom for Ukrainian players facing Russians ever since the war started in 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery person doesn\u2019t want to have a war in the world,\u201d Andreeva said. \u201cI never think about those things when I play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mastering the wind<\/p>\n

The final was played under a mostly sunny sky, though wind was a factor in the first Grand Slam final for both players.<\/p>\n

Chwalinska double-faulted on the opening point of the match, but she was the first player to hold serve in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead.<\/p>\n

But then Andreeva won nine stright games to take control as she found a way to hit through the wind and answer Chwalinska\u2019s array of spins and drop shots.<\/p>\n

Whereas Chwalinska would retreat to handle high balls in the wind, Andreeva often would move forward and take balls on the rise.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe definitely handled wind much better than me,\u201d Chwalinska said. \u201cShe was not running away from the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andreeva produced 25 winners to Chwalinska\u2019s 10 and also had fewer unforced errors: 26 to 29.<\/p>\n

There was a strong Polish presence in the crowd.<\/p>\n

When Chwalinska was introduced, fans held aloft red-and-white Polish flags and chanted her name: \u201cMa-ja, Ma-ja.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andreeva had little support from the crowd, although there was a shout of \u201cDavai, Mirra!\u201d (\u201cGo, Mirra\u201d) in Russian late in the match.<\/p>\n

Alexander Zverev<\/a> plays Flavio Cobolli<\/a> in the men\u2019s final on Sunday to conclude the wildest Grand Slam<\/a> in recent memory.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Russia's<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Mirra Andreeva poses with the trophy after winning the final women\u2019s tennis match against Poland\u2019s Maja Chwalinska at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Aurelien Morissard)<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Mirra Andreeva poses with the trophy after winning the final women\u2019s tennis match against Poland\u2019s Maja Chwalinska at the French Open in Paris, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo\/Aurelien Morissard)<\/p>\n

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___<\/p>\n

AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP tennis: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/tennis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARIS (AP) \u2014 Bent over with her hands covering her face, her knees getting dirtied on the red…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":688474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[12082,1927,22623,4039,4038,793,2660,211151,74010,298997,9747,54586,593,99,428,965],"class_list":["post-688473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-alexander-zverev","tag-ap-top-news","tag-flavio-cobolli","tag-french-open","tag-french-open-tennis-championships","tag-general-news","tag-iga-swiatek","tag-maja-chwalinska","tag-marta-kostyuk","tag-mary-pierce","tag-mirra-andreeva","tag-monica-seles","tag-paris","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=688473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/688473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/688474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=688473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=688473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=688473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}