Russian teen wins French Open (VIDEOS)

Russian tennis player Mirra Andreeva won her first Grand Slam title with a straight-sets victory over Poland’s Maja Chwalinska in the Roland-Garros final in Paris on Saturday.

Playing on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Andreeva defeated Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 to claim the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup and €2.8 million ($3.23 million) in prize money.

The 19-year-old became the youngest women’s champion at Roland-Garros since Monica Seles won her third consecutive title in 1992 aged 18. The victory also made the Siberian-born teen the first Russian woman to win the French Open since Maria Sharapova lifted the trophy in 2014.

Video footage showed Andreeva falling to her knees and fighting back tears before hugging and thanking Chwalinska immediately after her victory.

“It’s very special for me. I’ve been watching Roland-Garros on TV since I was very young,” she said. “It’s been a big dream of mine and I can’t believe I’m holding this trophy right now.”

Under restrictions imposed on Russian and Belarusian athletes by the French Tennis Federation after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Andreeva was not allowed to compete under a national flag.

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All restrictions lifted on Russian fencers

Numerous sports federations barred athletes from the two nations that year. Since then, some governing bodies have permitted Russians and Belarusians to take part under neutral status, while others have removed the restrictions altogether.

On Tuesday, the International Fencing Federation (FIE) lifted its ban on Russian and Belarusian competitors. Earlier, international governing bodies for gymnastics, judo, taekwondo, wrestling, and aquatic sports removed similar measures.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long denounced the bans as politically biased and selective sanctions. “There is no place for politics in sport,” he said last year.