by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
“Mirra Mirra on the wall, Andreeva is the champion of them all” said Adam Lefkoe, the enthusiastic host of the TNT American broadcast of Roland Garros shortly after Mirra Andreeva broke through to win her first major singles title at Roland Garros.
Fighting gusty winds, cool temperatures, high expectations and the tenacious and quirky game of her unexpected Cinderella opponent of Maja Chwadlinska, Andreeva claimed the final-round victory with 6-3, 6-2 win that wasn’t really in doubt after the eighth game of the first set.
“I’m just happy that I kept my composure, kept my focus, and I felt like no matter what, no matter what the score is gonna be, no way I’m gonna lose this match,” Andreeva told TNT’s Mary Joe Fernandez shortly after the trophy ceremony. “I was just very happy with how locked in I was in the last game.”
“I felt like their conditions were extremely tough, a lot of wind going into a lot of different directions,” Andreeva continued. “So I’m just happy that I was able to stay focused and I was able to play aggressive and go for my shots.”
Aged 19 years and 39 days old on finals day, Mirra Andreeva is the first teenager to win the Roland Garros women’s singles title since Iga Swiatek in 2020 (who was 19 years and 132 days old, older than Andreeva).
Her title makes her the youngest Roland Garros women’s singles champion since 18-year-old Monica Seles won her third straight Roland Garros title in 1992, which was played exactly 34 years to the day of Andreeva’s victory.
The 2007-born Andreeva is the first player born after 2005 to reach a Grand Slam singles final (including women’s and men’s events).
Chwalinska, the Polish qualifier ranked No. 114 (only the second qualifier to ever reach a Grand Slam tournament final after 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu), initially dug in after being broken in the opening game, breaking straight back to move 3-2 ahead. Andreeva then reeled off nine consecutive games before finally closing out the win.
Andreeva will move from No. 8 to No. 6 in the WTA rankings, while Chwalinska will move from a career-changing ranking inside the Top 30. Her incredible story is documented here:
The Extraordinary Story of Maja Chwalińska – World Tennis Magazine
