Andreeva Beats Chwalinska, Becomes Youngest French Open Champion

Teenager Mirra Andreeva beats Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska to become the youngest woman to win the French Open since Monica Seles 34 years ago.

The 19-year-old tennis sensation and eight seed, lived up to the hype and came of age by sealing her maiden Grand Slam title by ending the fairytale-run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska with a 6-3 6-2 victory at Roland-Garros.

The Russian became the youngest player to win the women’s singles title since Monica Seles, who was 18 when she landed her third straight French Open in 1992.

Chwalinska was attempting to become the first qualifier to capture the title in Paris.

Russia’s Andreeva, who lives and trains in France, may not have had the majority of the crowd behind her because of the political landscape and perhaps because of her opponent’s underdog status, but there is no doubt she is a phenomenal talent and a worthy Grand Slam champion. She is also the first Russian female grand slam singles champion since Maria Sharapova dropped to her knees in celebration in 2014.

“You’re a very tricky opponent. Wouldn’t want to play you one more time. No, it’s okay. I hope we play many more finals in the future,” Andreeva said during the trophy ceremony.

“It was a big dream of mine to ⁠win this tournament. I can’t believe that I’m holding this trophy.”, Andreeva added.