Chwalinska stuns Shnaider to reach French Open final

PARIS, June 4. /TASS/. Russia’s Diana Shnaider fell in the semifinals round of the 2026 French Open tournament on Thursday, losing to World No. 114 Maja Chwalinska from Poland.

Qualifier Chwalinska, 24, continued her Cinderella run at Roland Garros by defeating the 25th-seeded Shnaider, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, in straight sets 7-6 (7-4); 6-4. The match lasted two hours and two minutes.

"It's like a dream, honestly," the tournament’s official website quoted Chwalinska as saying after the match. "I don't know what's going on. I don't know what to say. I'm just very happy."

Shnaider, 22, is currently ranked 23rd in the WTA Rankings. She holds five WTA titles. Her best result in Grand Slams prior to this year’s French Open was reaching Round 4 of the 2024 US Open. At the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she captured a silver medal in women’s doubles with partner Mirra Andreeva.

Earlier in the tourney, Chwalinska took down tour stalwarts Iga Swiatek and Magda Linette on her way to her first-ever Grand Slam final.

In the other semifinals encounter earlier in the day, Russia’s teen Mirra Andreeva, also playing under a neutral status at the tournament, stormed into the final of the Grand Slam in Paris with a straight-sets win of 6-1; 6-3 over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk (15th-seed).

"I played (nine) matches here already, so there are no secrets," Chwalinska continued speaking about her upcoming match against Andreeva. "But I watched Mirra a bit. They [Andreeva-Kostyuk] were playing before us, so I watched her game and it was incredible."

"It's just another great experience for me. I will for sure give my all. It's a Grand Slam final," the Polish player added.

Andreeva, 19, is currently 8th in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Rankings and she is a five-time WTA champion. Her previous best finish at Grand Slams was at the 2024 French Open when she reached the semifinals.

In 2023, the WTA named Andreeva rookie of the year. Playing at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she won a silver medal in women’s doubles paired with Diana Shnaider.

One of tennis’ four Grand Slam events, the 2026 French Open, takes place in Paris, nicknamed the "City of Light," between May 24 and June 7. The tournament is played on outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros. Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff from the United States are the tournament’s reigning champions on the men's and women's sides respectively.

Russian and Belarusian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.