Mirra Andreeva looked more focused than ever.
Not louder. Not wilder. Not carried by the occasion. Focused.
The 19-year-old walked into her second French Open semi-final against a player who had not lost on clay all year, then played as if she had been given the keys to every rally. Marta Kostyuk arrived with a 17-0 clay record, titles in Rouen and Madrid, wins over Iga Swiatek and Elina Svitolina, and the sense that this season had started to bend around her.
Andreeva straightened it out.
The Russian beat Kostyuk 6-1, 6-3 to reach her first Grand Slam final, ending the Ukrainian’s unbeaten clay run with a performance that was not spectacular in the usual highlight-reel sense. It was colder than that. Andreeva directed points, controlled the tempo, absorbed the few moments of danger, and made Kostyuk look as if she could never quite find the court she wanted.
The most talented teenager in women’s tennis is now one win from a major title.
And after this, she will enter the final as the favourite.
Kostyuk Starts Nervously and Andreeva Takes the First Invitation
The match began with the kind of service game Kostyuk could not afford.
Two double faults put her under immediate pressure, and Andreeva did not wait for the semi-final to settle. She broke in the opening game, then faced her first serious test straight away.
At 0-1, Kostyuk had 0-40 on the Andreeva serve. It was exactly the sort of chance that could have changed the emotional weather of the match. A quick break back, a reset, a reminder that Kostyuk had owned this clay season for a reason.
Andreeva refused it.
She won five points in a row, one with a double lob in it, held for 2-0, then broke again for 3-0. That passage felt enormous. Kostyuk had her first route into the match and missed it. Andreeva had her first crisis and treated it like a problem to be solved, not a moment to fear.
By 4-0, the match already had a direction.
Andreeva Turns the First Set Into a Lesson
Kostyuk finally got on the board at 1-4, but even that required a fight.
She saved five break points in a long service game, earning a huge cheer and at least a small platform. It did not last. Andreeva held to love for 5-1, looking completely at home on Court Philippe-Chatrier, then pressed again on return.
The first set ended 6-1 in 33 minutes.
Kostyuk was not at the races. Some of that was her own level. The forehand was not clean enough, the serve gave away too much pressure, and the semi-final occasion may have tightened the edges of her game.
But much of it was Andreeva.
She was not letting rallies breathe. She was steering them. She pushed Kostyuk into awkward contact, took away rhythm, and kept finding the right ball at the right time. Kostyuk wanted to attack. Andreeva kept making her attack from the wrong shots. Andreeva’s sliced forehand did part of the damage.
Kalinskaya vs Chwalinska – Set One Stats
| Statistic | Kalinskaya | Chwalinska |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 0.88 | 1.14 |
| Winners | 25 | 16 |
| Unforced Errors | 29 | 10 |
| Serve Rating | 186 | 228 |
| Aces | 0 | 0 |
| Double Faults | 4 | 1 |
| 1st Serve % | 67% (29/43) | 83% (44/53) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 59% (17/29) | 52% (23/44) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 14% (2/14) | 44% (4/9) |
| Break Points Saved | 25% (1/4) | 63% (5/8) |
| Service Games | 50% (3/6) | 50% (3/6) |
| Ace % | 0% | 0% |
| Double Fault % | 9.3% | 1.9% |
| Return Rating | 192 | 252 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 48% (21/44) | 41% (12/29) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 56% (5/9) | 86% (12/14) |
| Break Points Won | 38% (3/8) | 75% (3/4) |
| Return Games | 50% (3/6) | 50% (3/6) |
| Pressure Points | 48% (10/21) | 52% (11/21) |
| Service Points | 44% (19/43) | 51% (27/53) |
| Return Points | 49% (26/53) | 56% (24/43) |
| Net Points | 69% (11/16) | 64% (7/11) |
| Total Points | 47% (45/96) | 53% (51/96) |
| Set 1 Duration | 0h34m | |
The Second Set Threatens a Twist
The second set began with another Andreeva hold after pressure.
Kostyuk had a break chance in the opening game but could not take it. Then Andreeva broke for 2-0, held for 3-0, and the match again looked as if it might be over very quickly.
At 4-1, Andreeva roared. She was two games from the final, and the sound echoed around Roland Garros like a player who knew exactly how close she was.
Then the sky changed. Grey clouds gathered, the roof closed further, and Kostyuk finally found a brief surge. She held for 2-4, then broke Andreeva to love for 3-4.
For the first time in the match, the comeback had a shape.
But it did not have time.
Andreeva Cuts Off the Comeback Before It Can Grow
Kostyuk had pulled the second set back on serve. The crowd had found a little noise. The match had one last question.
Andreeva answered immediately.
At 3-4, she broke back in cut-throat fashion, moving to 5-3 and removing the oxygen from Kostyuk’s revival before it could become dangerous. Then she served for the match.
No wobble. No long argument. No teenage panic.
At match point, Andreeva finished the job and launched her racket into the air with a cheer of joy. She had beaten a player who had not lost on clay all season and had made it look startlingly clean.
Kostyuk’s run was over.
Andreeva’s first Grand Slam final had arrived.
Kalinskaya vs Chwalinska – Set Two Stats
| Statistic | Kalinskaya | Chwalinska |
|---|---|---|
| Dominance Ratio | 0.81 | 1.24 |
| Winners | 11 | 8 |
| Unforced Errors | 18 | 5 |
| Serve Rating | 169 | 238 |
| Aces | 1 | 0 |
| Double Faults | 2 | 0 |
| 1st Serve % | 69% (22/32) | 74% (17/23) |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 41% (9/22) | 47% (8/17) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 40% (4/10) | 67% (4/6) |
| Break Points Saved | 0% (0/4) | 33% (1/3) |
| Service Games | 20% (1/5) | 50% (2/4) |
| Ace % | 3.1% | 0% |
| Double Fault % | 6.3% | 0% |
| Return Rating | 203 | 299 |
| 1st Return Points Won | 53% (9/17) | 59% (13/22) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 33% (2/6) | 60% (6/10) |
| Break Points Won | 67% (2/3) | 100% (4/4) |
| Return Games | 50% (2/4) | 80% (4/5) |
| Pressure Points | 33% (3/9) | 67% (6/9) |
| Service Points | 41% (13/32) | 52% (12/23) |
| Return Points | 48% (11/23) | 59% (19/32) |
| Net Points | 64% (9/14) | 50% (1/2) |
| Total Points | 44% (24/55) | 56% (31/55) |
| Set 2 Duration | 0h43m | |
The Stats Show How Completely Andreeva Controlled the Match
The numbers explain why the scoreline felt so one-sided.
Andreeva’s dominance ratio was 1.47 to Kostyuk’s 0.68. She won 68 of the 117 points, taking 58 percent of the match total. The winner count was close — Kostyuk actually hit 15 to Andreeva’s 14 — but that statistic hides the match.
The error column tells the truth.
Kostyuk made 34 unforced errors. Andreeva made 22.
That gap mattered because Andreeva was the player asking the better questions. Kostyuk was not simply missing from neutral positions. She was often being rushed, stretched or pushed far behind the baseline. Andreeva steered the rallies.
The serve numbers were just as important. Andreeva made 73 percent of first serves, won 66 percent of those points, and held seven of eight service games. Kostyuk made only 51 percent of first serves and held three of eight.
Andreeva also won 66 percent of Kostyuk’s second-serve points. That was brutal. Every time Kostyuk missed the first serve, the next point felt like a negotiation she was unlikely to enjoy.
Kostyuk’s Clay Streak Ends, but Not Her Season’s Meaning
This was a hard finish for Marta Kostyuk because of everything she had built.
Rouen had helped start the run. Madrid made her a clay-court champion at WTA 1000 level against Mirra Andreeva. Paris then turned her season into something even bigger, with wins over Swiatek and Svitolina and a first Grand Slam semi-final.
She came into this match unbeaten on clay. She leaves it with proof that the run was real, even if the ending was harsh.
The problem was that Andreeva gave her almost nothing to settle into. Kostyuk needed rhythm, front-foot points and a way to make the match feel like her own. Instead, she spent most of the afternoon trying to get out from under Andreeva’s control.
For a player who had steamrolled so much of the clay season, that was the shock.
Kostyuk had been the storm for weeks.
Andreeva made her play in lanes.
A Final Awaits, and Andreeva Will Be the Favourite
Andreeva will face either Diana Shnaider or Maja Chwalinska in the final.
That sentence would have sounded almost impossible when the tournament began, but this French Open has been rearranging expectations for two weeks.
All favourites are gone.
One dark horse is still standing.
Mirra Andreeva.
The teenager has not just survived the chaos. She has risen above it. Against Cirstea, she gave up three games. Against Kostyuk, she gave up four. In the last two rounds, with a semi-final place and then a final place at stake, she has looked calmer than almost everyone around her.
There will be bigger emotional questions depending on the opponent. If it is Shnaider, it is a meeting with her doubles partner and friend. If it is Chwalinska, it is the most unlikely Grand Slam final story in years.
Either way, Andreeva will walk into Saturday as the player to beat.
She entered this semi-final against the only woman unbeaten on clay this season.
She left it as the favourite to win Roland Garros.