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Maja Chwalinska v Mirra Andreeva: French Open 2026 women’s singles final – live | French Open 2026
Key events
Chwalinska says:
I feel like I’m in the bubble. I don’t know what’s going on. I’m just very happy to be here. After the tournament there will be time to process it and breathe in, breathe out. Let’s not pretend someone expected it. I was outside the top 100 and now I’m in the final of a grand slam. It is hard to process.
Andreeva says:
I’m getting closer – I’m getting older, a little bit more mature with every match I play, a little bit more experience. I’ve been trying to work on being more calm, more positive. I’m very focused, and I felt like recently I have been trying to do a lot of different stuff. Maybe now I have found what’s been working very well for me, and I’m really trying to stick to that and do it every match that I play every time.
Andreeva
1R def Fiona Ferro 6-3, 6-3
2R def Marina Bassols Ribera 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
3R def Marie Bouzkova (27) 6-3, 6-2
4R def Jil Teichmann 6-3, 6-2
QF def Sorana Cirstea (18) 6-0, 6-3
SF def Marta Kostyuk (15) 6-1, 6-3
Chwalinska
Qualifying 1R def Alice Rame 6-0, 6-3
Q2R def Carole Monnet 6-0, 6-1
Q3R def Suzan Lamens 7-6 (4), 7-5
1R def Zheng Qinwen 6-4, 6-0
2R def Elise Mertens (23) 6-4, 6-0
3R def Maria Sakkari 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
4R def Diane Parry 6-3, 6-2
QF def Anna Kalinskaya (22) 7-6 (3), 6-3
SF def Diana Shnaider (25) 7-6 (4), 6-4
Road to the final. Both players have dropped only one set so far, though with all the destruction in the draw, neither has had to face a top-10 opponent. Andreeva did, however, impressively snap the 17-match winning streak of Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the semi-finals, with the Russian showing great composure and maturity amid the tense political backdrop to the match. Chwalinska has upset the Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, along with the seeds Elise Mertens, Anna Kalinskaya and Diana Shnaider, doing to Shnaider what Shnaider did to Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.
Tale of the tape
Andreeva – Chwalinska
9 Age 24
8 Seeding –
8 World ranking 114
0 Grand slam titles 0
0 Previous slam finals 0
5 Singles titles 0
0 Head-to-head 0
TNT Sports shows some live shots of Chwalinska backstage, lying under a blanket on a sofa. She looks like she’s about to embark on a Netflix binge rather than her first grand slam final.
Tumaini Carayol’s preview
Fancy reading Tumaini’s preview too? Sure you do:
The summer of 2022 took Maja Chwalinska to the familiar surroundings of the Bank of England Sports Club in Roehampton. A world away from the real thing, the then world No 170 worked her way through three gruelling Wimbledon qualifying matches against players ranked outside the top 150 to successfully make it to the main draw. She then marked her long-awaited appearance in the grounds of the All England Club with a big win over the world No 79 Katerina Siniakova before being dismantled in two sets in her second-round match.
For the past four years, that solitary main-draw victory was the pinnacle of Chwalinska’s career at the biggest events. The only other time the Pole qualified for a grand slam, the Australian Open last year, she was thrashed 6-0, 6-1 by Jule Niemeier, the world No 93, in the first round. She has failed to make it out of the preliminary rounds on 12 occasions and there have even been times over the past few years when her ranking dropped so low that she was unable to enter qualifying.
Seemingly out of nowhere, she now stands on the verge of history, a victory away from becoming the first player to win the French Open as a qualifier when she faces the eighth seed Mirra Andreeva in Saturday’s final. Since her first qualifying match on 18 May, Chwalinska, now ranked 114 in the world, has rolled through nine consecutive victories across three weeks, losing one set.
This is certainly one of the top two most shocking grand slam runs in history and it may not be second on that list. The only other result that bears any sort of comparison is, of course, Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open triumph, the only other time a qualifier has reached a major final. Considering her complete dearth of experience at the very start of her career, no player will ever have a breakthrough like Raducanu’s, but her inexperience also made it difficult to assess her potential. Chwalinska, however, is a known entity who has been competing for more than 10 years. All evidence suggested something like this was never going to happen.
Chwalinska is small and easily overpowered, standing only 1m 64cm (5ft 5in), but her lack of physical strength has forced her to nurture a different style of play. At Roland Garros she has worked through her opponents one paper cut at a time, constantly varying the speed, spin and trajectory of her shots while putting the ball in the toughest positions around the court. She also has been brilliant defensively. With the added stress and tension in the final weeks of a grand slam draw, she has been an absolute nightmare to face. On Thursday, Diana Shnaider looked like a broken woman in the final moments of their match after failing to find a way past her.
You can read the rest here:
Britain’s Alfie Hewett is also under way in the men’s wheelchair singles final, against his great rival, Japan’s Tokito Oda, with Hewett a break down, 3-2, in the opening set.
Patten and Heliovaara do have one big consolation though: they’ll be the joint world No 1s when the new rankings come out on Monday.
Already today: Britain’s Henry Patten hasn’t been able to add to his grand slam collection, losing the men’s doubles final alongside Finland’s Harri Heliovaara. Patten and Heliovaara, the 2024 Wimbledon and 2025 Australian Open winners, lost 6-4, 6-2 against the defending champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, the Spanish-Argentinian duo, who’ve now gone back-to-back at Roland Garros.
Preamble
Salut! The teenage prodigy vs the 24-year-old qualifier and 500-1 outsider; as paths to a first grand slam final go, Mirra Andreeva’s and Maja Chwalinska’s couldn’t be more different.
Andreeva, having burst on to the WTA Tour as the most precocious of 15-year-olds in 2023, before reaching the French Open semi-finals in 2024, has long been tipped for major glory, and now, aged 19, the Russian appears to be finding the temperament to add to her tremendous talents and take that final step.
Chwalinska, after moving through the junior ranks in Poland with Iga Swiatek, struggled to break through as a pro, and after failing to qualify for Wimbledon in 2021 she took an indefinite break from tennis because of depression. “I pushed at the beginning, but then I just couldn’t get out of bed any more,” she says. “I was lifeless. I knew I needed to take a break. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to come back.”
When she did feel strong enough to return she qualified for her first ever grand slam, winning one round at Wimbledon in 2022, her only match victory at a major before this incroyable and improbable stroll in Paris, which started in qualifying 19 days ago. Nine victories and just one dropped set later, Emma Raducanu’s tag as the only qualifier to have won a slam is under threat, and the only stress has been how she would pay her hotel bill in the early rounds – not a problem now she’s guaranteed at least £1.2m for reaching the final.
What has made the diminutive Chwalinska’s run even more entertaining is the way in which she’s done it, with her craft and cunning confounding her more powerful opponents, offering a throwback in a sport dominated by huge hitters. But the problem for Chwalinska today is that Andreeva isn’t only able to hit the ball hard – she marries that with huge variety and boasts one of the highest IQs in tennis. In Andreeva, Chwalinska is facing a far more accomplished version of herself.
It means the toughest battle for Andreeva today could lie on her own side of the net: can she maintain her new-found emotional equilibrium and deal with being the standout favourite in the biggest match of her life? It’s going to fun finding out.
La finale commence: 15h à Paris/2pm UK. Restez à l’affût!
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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