Maja Chwalinska of Poland has become only the second qualifier in the Open Era to reach a Grand Slam singles final, defeating Russia's Diana Shnaider 7-6 (4), 6-4 on Thursday to book her place in Saturday's French Open final at Roland Garros in Paris. The 24-year-old will face Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, 19, who earlier in the day swept past Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 in a dominant display on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Chwalinska's run is the stuff of tennis folklore. She entered the tournament through three qualifying rounds — matches played before the main draw begins, typically contested by lower-ranked players — and has lost only one set across her nine matches at Roland Garros this year. In the main draw alone, she has beaten four players ranked inside the top 50. The only comparable achievement belongs to Emma Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open without dropping a set from the qualifying rounds, a feat that stunned the sporting world. Chwalinska is the first qualifier ever to reach the final at Roland Garros in the professional era. Before this tournament, her best Grand Slam result was a second-round exit at Wimbledon in 2022.

The semifinal itself was a tense, absorbing contest between two left-handed players. Chwalinska, ranked 114th in the world and sporting strapping on her left thigh, traded powerful groundstrokes and precise drop shots with Shnaider through a closely fought opening set before seizing it in a tiebreak with a perfectly placed lob. The second set remained level until a medical timeout for Shnaider — who appeared to be suffering with her left leg — after the seventh game seemed to shift the momentum decisively. Chwalinska did not drop another game, closing out the match with a forehand winner down the line on her first match point.