Day 12 at Roland-Garros delivered its verdict: Mirra Andreeva and Maja Chwalinska will meet in Saturday's final. Two vastly different paths, one historic destination.
On Philippe-Chatrier, Andreeva dispatched Marta Kostyuk in just over an hour. Against the Ukrainian who had been unbeaten on clay this season with 17 consecutive wins, the 19-year-old Russian left no room for debate. 6-1, 6-3, the scoreline tells the story. Kostyuk committed 34 unforced errors to Andreeva's 22, and was broken repeatedly while only managing one break herself. "I am very happy with the revenge from the Madrid final," said the world No. 8 after her dominant display.
The second semifinal offered a very different script. Diana Shnaider, who had stunned Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals, ran into the stubborn resistance of Chwalinska. The first set went to a tiebreak, won 7-4 by the Polish qualifier after a grueling battle. In the second set, a medical timeout taken by Shnaider for a back issue at 4-3 up shifted the momentum. Chwalinska rattled off three straight games to close out 6-4.
Roland-Garros 2026 will be remembered as the edition of firsts. Without Alcaraz (injured), without Sinner (eliminated in round two), without Sabalenka (ousted in the quarters), the women's draw delivers a final between a No. 8 seed and a qualifier ranked 114th. On the men's side, Friday's semifinals pit Alexander Zverev against Jakub Mensik, and Flavio Cobolli against Matteo Arnaldi, guaranteeing a first-time Italian finalist.