Maja Chwalinska fell just short of a stunning upset at Roland Garros, where she lost in the final to Mirra Andreeva.
Ranked 114th on the WTA Tour, Chwalinska reached the very last stage of the clay-court Grand Slam as a qualifier.
Her dream run in the French capital was finally ended by eighth seed Andreeva, who won their final encounter 6-3, 6-2.
The Pole deserves huge praise for her phenomenal run at Roland Garros, although a former coach of Serena Williams believes she could have gone one step further if not for a crucial error.
How many Grand Slams titles does Mirra Andreeva have at the same age Aryna Sabalenka is now (28)?
Maja Chwalinska claimed to have made big mistake in loss vs Mirra Andreeva
Patrick Mouratoglou, who used to work with 23-time Grand Slam champion Williams, has now shared his verdict on the final.
He said in a video on his Instagram: “I will surprise you, but I think that Chwalinska could have won this Roland Garros final.
“But she made this big mistake. She didn’t follow this absolute rule in tennis: never change a tactic that works.
“We knew that Andreeva was superior to Chwalinska in terms of level of play. But we knew also that Chwalinska was dangerous because she has such a different style of game.
“The danger was that with this style Andreeva, that was the immense favorite, would become frustrated.
“From 2-2 to 2-3 in the last game, she got broken, she served double faults, two big unforced errors, and I was feeling that it was really boiling inside.
“And I thought ohh, she’s in danger. I think that’s exactly what Chwalinska also thought. And I think she saw herself potentially winning at that moment.
“And then she changed tactics. Chwalinska started to rush, she started to take the balls early, playing way more flat, which is I think not her game.
“I think if she would have stayed in the same tactics, I think she would have had a good chance to win.”
Roland Garros winner Mirra Andreeva thinks she’s playing her best tennis
Ultimately, Chwalinska deserves huge praise for her efforts in the final and indeed throughout the entire tournament.
And the same can be said of her 19-year-old opponent, with Andreeva climbing highest in Paris to claim her maiden Grand Slam title.
It represents the third WTA title of the 2026 season for the Russian superstar, and the sixth of her hugely exciting career so far.
When it was posed to her afterwards if it is fair to say she is playing her best tennis right now, Andreeva told the WTA website: “I think so, yes, because obviously, I would say that these are the best results that I’ve had so far in my career.
“I would also say that winning Dubai and Indian Wells on hard court before this happened were the highlights of my career.
“Now obviously winning a Grand Slam title, I would say… yes, I would say that maybe this is the best tennis that I’ve played so far.”
Earlier this season, she clinched titles in Linz and Adelaide, following her Iasi title in 2024 and back-to-back WTA 1000 titles at Indian Wells and Dubai in 2025.
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