Maja Chwalinska continued her fairytale run to make French Open history on Thursday as she beat Diana Shnaider in straight sets to become the first qualifier to go all the way to the final at Roland Garros in the professional era.
The 24-year-old's 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 victory over Russian 25th seed Shnaider made her only the second woman to come through qualifying and reach a Grand Slam final in any major since the Open era began, after Emma Raducanu's title run at the U.S. Open in 2021.
Polish world number 114 will meet Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva in Saturday's title-decider. The 19-year-old Andreeva reached her first Grand Slam final after sealing a 6-1, 6-3 win over Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk earlier on Thursday.
Appearing in her first main draw in Paris, Chwalinska, who had on three previous occasions failed to qualify for Roland Garros, has won nine matches across her three-week French Open campaign to stand on the brink of glory.
Chwalinska said her run to the final was "like a dream" moments after beating Shnaider.
