Two of women’s tennis’ rising stars will face off in the French Open final on Saturday.
Maja Chwalinska, the 24-year-old Pole, has come all the way through from qualifying to reach the showpiece finale at Roland-Garros, and she will take on Russian teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva on Court Philippe-Chatrier this weekend.
Chwalinska, the world No114, had won just two matches at a Grand Slam before arriving in Paris, and she continued her fairytale run in France with a 7-6(4) 6-4 victory over Aryna Sabalenka’s quarter-final conqueror Diana Shnaider.
Chwalinska, who has become the first ever qualifier to reach a women’s singles final at Roland-Garros, defeated the 25th seed in dominant fashion on Thursday, powering 32 winners past the Russian to sail into Saturday’s final.
She has become a favourite among the French faithful, with the Paris crowd chanting her name as she attempted to give her on-court interview.
Chwalinska will face Andreeva, who beat Marta Kostyuk 6-1 6-3 in her last-four encounter.
Andreeva, 19, was defeated in the semi-finals of the French Open in 2024, as she fell to Jasmine Paolini.
She becomes the third-youngest female player to reach the final on the Parisian dirt, following in the footsteps of Kim Clijsters and Coco Gauff, and she could become the third-youngest major champion - after Maria Sharapova and Emma Raducanu - should she win on Saturday.
Chwalinska will also be hoping to emulate the British No1’s US Open feat from 2021, as the Pole aims to become just the second ever qualifier to win a major title.
In recent years, she has struggled to even reach the main draws of Slams, losing 12 of 14 times in qualifying, and she even considered retiring from the sport altogether amid mental health problems.
In Paris, however, it has just clicked, with Chwalinska stunning Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng - who won gold at Roland-Garros in 2024 - in her opening match, before dumping out 23rd seed Elise Mertens in the second round.
She showed great spirit to come back and beat Maria Sakkari, the former world No3, in the third round, and she has continued to get better and better as the tournament progressed.
© The Standard Ltd