Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, playing under a neutral flag, clinched the French Open women's singles title on Saturday, defeating Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 in the final. At 19, she became the youngest women's champion at Roland Garros since Monica Seles, who was 18 when she won her third straight title in 1992.

Chwalinska, ranked 114th, was attempting to become the first qualifier to win the title. During the trophy ceremony, she told Andreeva: "You're so young and talented. It's so annoying." Andreeva celebrated by throwing her racket and dropping to her knees on the clay.

In an unusual move, Andreeva thanked herself during the ceremony: "For believing in myself, always giving my 100 percent, even when it's tough... Only I know how tough it was for me." She also spoke a few words in French, drawing applause from the crowd.

Andreeva was born in Siberia, moved to Sochi, and later to France to develop her career. She has been considered a Grand Slam contender since bursting onto the scene at age 15 at the 2023 Madrid Open. Due to the war in Ukraine, she competes without her country's flag. In the semifinals, Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk refused to shake her hand, a common practice for Ukrainian players against Russians since the war began.

Andreeva produced 25 winners to Chwalinska's 10 and had fewer unforced errors (26 to 29). The match was played under sunny but windy conditions. In men's doubles, top-seeded Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos retained their title. The men's singles final between Alexander Zverev and Flavio Cobolli is scheduled for Sunday.

Source: www.aljazeera.com