Russian No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva, a teen phenomenon, won her first WTA Tour victory at the age of 15 in 2023, reaching the 4th round of Wimbledon just 2 months later. Since then, becoming a Grand Slam champion seems to be only a matter of time.
On the contrary, the road to the Roland Garros final of the player who passed the qualifying round Maja Chwalinska is unpredictable. This 24-year-old Polish player has never been directly into the main round of a major tournament and has only passed the Grand Slam qualifiers 2 times in 14 previous attempts.
Little-known fame, Chwalinska's breakthrough – ranked 114th in the world – is a lesson about what can be achieved through dedication and perseverance.
The odds for Chwalinska before the tournament started were 500-1 (very low).
The maturity of Andreeva
What Andreeva has achieved in the past 2 weeks is clearly shown through historical statistics. As the third youngest player to reach the Roland Garros final this century, only after Coco Gauff (18 years old in 2022) and Kim Clijsters (17 years old in 2001), Andreeva aims to become the youngest French Open champion since Monica Seles in 1992.
Born in Siberia and training in France, Andreeva is predicted to make history since her breakthrough performance at the Madrid Open 2023 – where her talent and fearlessness were praised.
Her progress has accelerated since choosing Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez as coach in 2024. Martinez said that from the moment she started working with Andreeva, she clearly saw that she was a star in the future.
After reaching the French Open semi-finals 2 years ago, Andreeva continued to make great strides in 2025, winning 2 WTA 1000 titles and entering the Top 5 in the world.
However, her hot-tempered personality on the court sometimes reminds everyone of her young age. Some behaviors almost went beyond the limit, and she once exploded with emotions against host player Lois Boisson in the tense Roland Garros quarter-finals last year.
But the way she calmly overcame the No. 15 seed from Ukraine, Marta Kostyuk, in the semi-finals on Thursday is a sign of maturity.
Perfect adaptation to the biggest stage
Chwalinska's impressive streak means Emma Raducanu's position as the only player from the qualifying round to win a Grand Slam title – which the British player achieved at the US Open 2021 – is under threat.
If Chwalinska defeated Andreeva, she would be ranked on par with Raducanu in the majors victory that no one could have foreseen.
Most of Chwalinska's career went through the lowest levels of the professional system, traveling everywhere and struggling to make ends meet. Even after winning the second round in Paris, Chwalinska was afraid that she would not have enough money to pay hotel fees for the next nights.
Without a private sponsor, a Polish company supporting Iga Swiatek – Chwalinska's childhood friend – stood up to pay for these expenses.
In 2021, Chwalinska took an indefinite tennis break after losing in the Wimbledon qualifiers. Depression made her feel soulless and unable to leave bed.
She didn't know when – or whether – she could return. 4 months later, she felt healthy enough to return, but the journey to the top was a slow process.
Chwalinska used to play in small tournaments in the Italian cities of Brescia and Bari after losing in the French Open qualifiers last year. Now, she is preparing to step out in front of 15,000 people on Philippe Chatrier's court and millions of other viewers from all over the world.
