By Roger Childs

I want to thank myself … for believing in myself. –Mirra Andreeva

Andreeva more consistent

The women’s final in the French grand slam proved to be a comfortable win for the more experienced player. After service was broken in each of the first four games, the next 10 were won by eighth seed Mirra Andreeva. Qualifier Maja Chwalinska picked up the next two but the Russian eventually cruised home 6-3 6-2. Both finalists served well and demonstrated strong well-placed ground strokes, but Andreeva was much more consistent.  

Inexperience shows

The Polish qualifier made too many mistakes and often showed her inexperience. Although she won three of the first six games, Chwalinska did not play to her strengths and instead of smashing high tosses she waited for them to bounce and then hit usually hit them out. Generally her placements were good, however her opponent improved as the game went on. Andreeva showed her greater experience and had more of the killer instinct.

There was no way she was going to allow the Polish qualifier to emulate Raducanu’s miracle run of winning ten victories without dropping a set at Flushing Meadows in 2021. This was the first and so far the only grand slam triumph by a qualifier.

The 2026 Women’s Singles at Roland Garros will be remembered for a new grand slam champion in a competition that never reached great heights.