Tennis fans might have been waiting for the Cinderella slipper to no longer fit Maja Chwalinska at the 2026 French Open. The player with the slowest average forehand in the field at Roland Garros would surely wilt against the relative power and precision shot-making of Mirra Andreeva in the final.
Chwalinska, after all, was everything that modern tennis isn't. She simply hopes to keep points alive, hitting looping shots almost as often as lasers down the line. The Pole would have been fantastic in the 1970s, but in the 2020s, there was a good reason for her pre-French Open ranking of No. 114.
Andreeva, meanwhile, is still only 19 years old but has seemingly been knocking on the door of long-term greatness for years. She has won Masters 1000s before, but she had yet to win a major. The Paris title was likely firmly in her grasp against the more cerebral game of Chwalinska.
Mirra Andreeva defeats Cinderella-story Maja Chwalinska to win the 2026 French Open
Whether it was nerves or return prowess, the first set started with each player breaking the other. Andreeva's power took advantage of a slow Chwalinska serve, but the Polish player was able to set up points on Andreeva's serve by hitting smartly to the corners of the court, forcing the Russian to make one or two extra shots. Andreeva was also hurting herself with too many double faults.
Finally, in the fifth game of the first set, Chwalinska held (surprisingly, at love) and appeared to prove that she would not easily go away in the final at Roland Garros. Andreeva had other plans, though.
After getting a hold of serve herself, Andreeva then broke Chwalinska two more times before the set was over to win the opener 6-3. She was finding her bombastic shots just in time and was taking full control of the match. Chwalinska, however, seemed to tire, never having gone so far in a Grand Slam event before.
The Russian finished the first set with 14 winners and 12 unforced errors, but the former number grew late in the set. Chwalinka, failing to keep points alive as well as she did at the beginning of the match, finished with eight winners but 14 unforced errors.
Win or lose the match, Maja Chwalinska might have been the story of the French Open on the women's side. She had never won an event before, and was the first player to reach the final after making her way through qualifiers in the Open era. Viewing records were being set in Poland for those watching the 24-year-old play. She might never make a run at a major title again, but she was a star.
Mirra Andreeva deserved the Roland Garros crown, however. She has been expected to eventually challenge for the WTA No. 1 for at least a year. That could be in her future, and she likely will win more Grand Slams, too. What was becoming clear with every game was that the French Open would be her first.
To start the second set, Andreeva held and then got a break in the next game. Seemingly, no doubt that she would go on to win Roland Garros. The only question was how much Andreeva would win the second set by.
She jumped out to a 5-0 lead, enough room that any nerves she might feel close to the end would not be an issue. She would take the set 6-2, after being broken at 5-1, but then getting another break of Chwalinska to close out the match and tournament.
With the victory, Andreeva will be back to No. 6 on the WTA rankings when they come out on Monday, just one off her career best. She will be less than 100 points behind No. 1 Amanda Anisimova. By the end of the year, though, the new French Open champion could be battling at least for No. 2.
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