The 2025 French Open has delivered one of the most stunning underdog stories in Grand Slam history, as Polish world No. 114 Maja Chwalinska etched her name into the Roland Garros record books on Thursday, becoming the first qualifier in the professional Open era to advance to the women’s singles final. Her run sets up a blockbuster title clash against 19-year-old Russian rising star Mirra Andreeva, who booked her own first-ever Grand Slam final spot with a dominant semi-final win earlier the same day.
Chwalinska claimed her place in Saturday’s decider with a hard-fought 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over 25th seed Diana Shnaider, a result that comes on the back of a grueling nine-match campaign that stretches back to the qualifying rounds three weeks ago. The 24-year-old Pole, who was making her first main draw appearance at Roland Garros, had to win three qualifying matches just to earn her spot in the main draw, and has defied all pre-tournament odds to reach the final stage. A win this weekend would make her only the second women’s qualifier to claim a Grand Slam singles title since the Open Era began, following Emma Raducanu’s fairytale 2021 US Open victory.
Fresh off her upset win over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals, Shnaider pushed Chwalinska to the limit in a contest that lasted two hours and 10 minutes. After a tightly contested first set that went to a tiebreak, the second set remained on serve until Shnaider called a medical time-out for a back massage at 3-4. When play resumed, Chwalinska found another gear, winning three straight games to close out the match and secure her place in history. Speaking to the crowd after the match on Court Philippe Chatrier, an emotional Chwalinska described her run as nothing short of a dream. “I don’t know what’s going on, I just, I dunno what to say. I’m sorry, I’m just very happy,” she told the raucous crowd, admitting that after nine matches of high-stakes tennis, her physical condition was far from ideal. But she brushed off any complaints, adding: “It’s so challenging to play against the best players in the world day by day, but it’s a Grand Slam so you just have to give your best day by day. But I’m not complaining at all!”
Chwalinska’s historic run has been marked by a string of stunning upsets that began in the very first round of the main draw, where she knocked out Olympic medalist Zheng Qinwen. She went on to upset 23rd seed Elise Mertens, former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari, French hometown favorite Diane Parry, and 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya to reach the semi-finals. Before this tournament, Chwalinska had only ever won one Grand Slam main draw match (at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships) and just two tour-level matches on clay in her entire career. Regardless of the result in the final, her standout performance is projected to lift her to at least a new career-high ranking of No. 21 in the world when the new rankings are released next week. For her part, Shnaider praised Chwalinska after the match, acknowledging she had produced a level of play that was unbeatable on the day. “Very proud of myself, what I achieved here,” Shnaider said of her own career-best Grand Slam run. “(Chwalinska) played unreal, and she definitely deserved this win today and to be in the final.”
Earlier in the day, Andreeva delivered a dominant performance of her own to dispatch Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 and book her spot in her first major final. The 19-year-old 15th seed, who had lost twice to Kostyuk already this season including in the Madrid Open final, completed her lopsided revenge win in just 76 minutes, saying her focus was so sharp that she could make out individual hairs on the ball during rallies. “I’m super happy with the way I played and then that I got revenge for Madrid final and I’m happy that I’m in my first-ever Grand Slam final,” Andreeva said after the match.
Kostyuk came into the semi-final riding a 17-match winning streak on clay, fresh off her own massive upset win over four-time defending French Open champion Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals. But the 23-year-old Ukrainian, who was also playing in her first Grand Slam semi-final, struggled with unforced errors all afternoon, finishing the match with 34 unforced errors that derailed her run. “Obviously not the greatest match from me today,” she admitted after the match. Despite the loss, Kostyuk can take pride in a breakout clay-court season that includes titles in Rouen and her first WTA 1000 title in Madrid. For Andreeva, the win extended her 2025 tour-leading win total to 35 match victories for the season, cementing her status as one of the most in-form players on the tour this year. Saturday’s final will now pit two of the tour’s most surprising breakout stars against each other, with one set to claim the most prestigious clay-court title in the sport.