PARIS (AP) 鈥� Bent over with her hands covering her face, her knees getting dirtied on the red clay court, was celebrating 鈥� processing might be the more appropriate word 鈥� how she had finally overcome 鈥渟o many demons inside鈥� that came with being a teenage tennis phenom.
After bursting onto the scene at 15, Andreeva became a Grand Slam champion at 19 when the Russian ended the run of 114th-ranked Polish qualifier with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the final on Saturday.
鈥淚鈥檝e done a lot of visualizations before. Not just this tournament, but I鈥檝e had dreams, I鈥檝e had a lot of thoughts on how it鈥檚 going to happen, if it鈥檚 going to happen, when it鈥檚 going to happen, where,鈥� Andreeva said, still hardly breathing as she talked quickly in true teenage style. “The feeling in real life is so much better than in your dreams.
鈥淚 can call myself a Grand Slam champion,鈥� Andreeva added.
The biggest challenges for Andreeva have not been on the court 鈥� she already has one of the best attacking baseline games in the sport 鈥� it’s been the mental side. And her stubbornness.
鈥淗er attitude is difficult,鈥� said Conchita Martinez, Andreeva’s coach and a former Wimbledon champion. 鈥淵ou tell her something, and maybe she鈥檚 not open to listening. … When she works hard and when she listens and she does everything, she has no limits.鈥�
Andreeva acknowledged as much during the trophy ceremony.
鈥淚 know I can be a tough cookie sometimes and it鈥檚 pretty hard to put up with me,鈥� Andreeva said.
The victory took Andreeva one step further than Martinez, who lost the 2000 French Open final to Mary Pierce.
Pierce presented the winner鈥檚 trophy to Andreeva, who became the youngest woman to win the clay-court Grand Slam since Monica Seles was 18 when she claimed her third straight French Open in 1992.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e so young and talented. It鈥檚 so annoying,鈥� the 24-year-old Chwalinska told Andreeva.
Andreeva took the unusual step of thanking herself 鈥渇or believing in myself, always giving my 100%, even when it鈥檚 tough, trying every day to be better as a person and as a player, believing that I can do this, fighting so many demons inside of me.
鈥淥nly I know how tough it was for me,鈥� Andreeva added. 鈥淗ow nervous I was throughout these two weeks.鈥�
Andreeva also thanked her psychologist, who she said was watching from Florida: 鈥淓verything that you鈥檝e told me I鈥檝e been trying to use these two weeks.鈥�
Chwalinska opens up about depression
Chwalinska was attempting to become the first qualifier to capture the Roland Garros title. She was a promising junior alongside four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek before she began struggling with depression in 2019.
鈥淭ennis is such a tough sport. It鈥檚 so individual. We start so early. We are basically kids when we start,鈥� Chwalinska said. 鈥淧eople are expecting that we are going to behave like adults already and we are just kids really. So the pressure is huge.鈥�
Andreeva was born in Siberia and moved to Sochi and eventually France to develop her tennis career.
She drew a loud applause from the crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier when she spoke a few words of French during the trophy presentation.
鈥淭hanks for your support today and over these past two marvelous weeks here in Paris,鈥� Andreeva said in French. 鈥淚t was very important for me.鈥�
Breakthrough at 15
Andreeva has been considered a Grand Slam contender since she burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old at the 2023 Madrid Open, where she became the third-youngest player to win a main draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament and made the quarterfinals.
Lately, Andreeva has had to contend with playing under neutral status and without her country鈥檚 flag because of the war with Ukraine.
When she beat Marta Kostyuk in the semifinals, Kostyuk refused to shake her hand, as has been the custom for Ukrainian players facing Russians ever since the war started in 2022.
鈥淓very person doesn鈥檛 want to have a war in the world,鈥� Andreeva said. 鈥淚 never think about those things when I play.鈥�
Mastering the wind
The final was played under a mostly sunny sky, though wind was a factor in the first Grand Slam final for both players.
Chwalinska double-faulted on the opening point of the match, but she was the first player to hold serve in the fifth game for a 3-2 lead.
But then Andreeva won nine stright games to take control as she found a way to hit through the wind and answer Chwalinska鈥檚 array of spins and drop shots.
Whereas Chwalinska would retreat to handle high balls in the wind, Andreeva often would move forward and take balls on the rise.
鈥淪he definitely handled wind much better than me,鈥� Chwalinska said. 鈥淪he was not running away from the ball.鈥�
Andreeva produced 25 winners to Chwalinska鈥檚 10 and also had fewer unforced errors: 26 to 29.
There was a strong Polish presence in the crowd.
When Chwalinska was introduced, fans held aloft red-and-white Polish flags and chanted her name: 鈥淢a-ja, Ma-ja.鈥�
Andreeva had little support from the crowd, although there was a shout of 鈥淒avai, Mirra!鈥� (鈥淕o, Mirra鈥�) in Russian late in the match.
plays in the men鈥檚 final on Sunday to conclude in recent memory.
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AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report.
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