Dream meets fairytale as qualifier Andreeva and Chwalińska set up a French Open final showdown.

PARIS, June 5 — Mirra Andreeva’s dream pursuit of a first Grand Slam title at the French Open gained further momentum yesterday, while qualifier Maja Chwalinska continued her own fairytale run to set up an unexpected final in Paris.

Early departures of leading contenders, including defending champion Coco Gauff, four-time winner Iga Swiatek and world number one Aryna Sabalenka, opened the path for a new group of challengers, with both Andreeva and Chwalinska taking full advantage.

After 19-year-old Russian Andreeva secured a 6-1 6-3 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in a politically charged semi-final, Chwalinska defeated another Russian player, Diana Shnaider, 7-6(4) 6-4 to extend her remarkable run.

Roland Garros was already assured of a new women’s champion, with attention now turning to Court Philippe Chatrier to see which of the two contrasting journeys will end in Grand Slam success and who will lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup.

“I never actually thought that I would be able to win big tournaments, or be in a Grand Slam final,” said Andreeva, who could become the first teenager to win a Grand Slam title since Coco Gauff’s US Open triumph in 2023.

“It’s everything that I’ve been dreaming of. I would say that this is, I don’t know how other players think, but for me personally, it’s like the number one goal in my life, the most important thing, the number one dream too.”

No handshakes

As has been customary for Ukrainian players since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Kostyuk did not take part in the traditional pre-match photo with Andreeva, and there was no handshake at the net after their match.

Once play began, Andreeva took control early and never relinquished it, overpowering Kostyuk with depth and aggression on the main showcourt to seal a convincing win.

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Kostyuk said she would carry her impressive clay-court winning streak “to the grave” after it ended, adding that crowd support for her advocacy efforts would remain her lasting memory of the tournament.

Chwalinska then became only the second qualifier in the professional era to reach a Grand Slam final after Emma Raducanu’s US Open triumph in 2021, producing composed tennis under pressure to overcome Shnaider.

“It was such a challenging match, for sure, mentally and physically,” Chwalinska said.

“I feel like the first set was such a battle. We definitely gave our all. So yeah, I’m definitely very proud of the effort.”

“Just super happy with the win, of course.”

Chwalinska added she would remain in her bubble to maintain focus after her breakthrough run.

Valuable insight

The defeated Shnaider said she was proud of her own performance and offered an assessment of her loss that could provide valuable insight for her doubles partner Andreeva ahead of the final.

The day began with the first trophy of the tournament being awarded, as Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori retained their French Open mixed doubles title with a 4-6 6-3 (10-4) victory over Evan King and Gabriela Dabrowski.

The Italian pair dominated the deciding match tiebreak and became the first team to successfully defend the French Open mixed doubles crown since Ivan Dodig and Latisha Chan in 2019.

“It’s started to become a good habit,” Vavassori said.

“We’re not taking for granted winning a Grand Slam. We’re very happy, and to win back to back here is amazing. We love this tournament.”

Errani credited their partnership for their success.

“I think we both are very competitive... I think we have many things similar,” she said.

“We love tennis, we love to study matches, we love to talk tactics. I don’t know if others do that, but we’re doing a great job.” — Reuters