Maja Cholenska’s fairy tale run at Roland Garros reached unprecedented heights on Thursday when the Polish player became the first qualifier to reach it. French Open She is only the second player in the Open Era to make a Grand Slam singles title match after coming through the women’s singles final and qualifying.The 24-year-old beat Russia’s Diana Schneider 7-6 (4), 6-4 to take on teenage sensation Mira Andreeva, who earlier beat Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 to reach her first Grand Slam final.Chwalinska joins 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu as the only players in the Open Era since 1968 to advance from qualifying to a major singles final.
Cholenska’s dream run continues.
Cholenska, playing in just her third Grand Slam main draw, sealed victory with a thunderous forehand winner before collapsing incredibly.“Like a dream, honestly I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what to say, sorry,” she said during her on-court interview. “Let me enjoy this moment now.”His illustrious journey began in qualifying, needing just three wins to enter the main draw. Since then, he has dropped just one set in nine matches and defeated four top-50 players.The reward has been great. Ranked No. 114 before the tournament, Cholenska could climb to No. 14 with the title. The prize money is just as staggering — she’s already earned 1.4 million euros, far more than the $864,030 she earned in her entire career before arriving in Paris.Schneider pushed hard, but a medical timeout in the second set disrupted her rhythm and Chulenska broke serve in the ninth game before calmly closing out the match.“All credit to Maja, she played amazing,” Schneider said. “She moves incredible on the court, she covers a lot.”Andreeva loses focus.Standing between Chulenska and a historic title is 19-year-old Mira Andreeva, who put on a strong performance against Kostyuk.“When I was tossing or playing shots, I could see little hairs on the ball,” Andreeva said. “I was really, really focused today.”The eighth seed raced through the opening set and faced a brief fightback in the second to extend her love at Roland Garros, where she reached the semi-finals two years ago.Tensions rose in the semi-finals due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with Kostyuk leaving the court without shaking hands and the players posing separately before the match.But the spotlight now shifts to Saturday, where two unlikely finalists — a qualifier chasing history and a teenager chasing his first major crown — will battle for the Coupe Suzanne Langlen in what promises to be a memorable finale.
