While everyone on Court Philippe Chatrier celebrated 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva‘s first Grand Slam win, a slightly dark scene was spotted in the stands at the French Open. While the Russian player was having the moment of her life on the court, a few of her compatriots in the stands wanted to celebrate the young athlete’s victory by waving their national flag, but that did not go down well.

Journalist Ben Rothenberg spotted that, as soon as the couple unfurled their Russian flag to celebrate the moment, Roland Garros security was quick to step in. The security personnel asked the man to put the flag in his bag, and there was no further escalation of the situation as the individual complied.

The prohibition of Russian flags at any Grand Slams, ATP, or WTA events dates back to 2022, when the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine started. There are no flags shown beside the names of the Russian and Belarusian players on broadcast images, as an extension of this policy, and even someone as high-ranked as World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka is not above it. The Russian players are allowed to play under the “neutral” tag, and they have been banned from team competitions such as the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup.

On court, the most common manifestation of the geopolitical tension since 2022 has been Ukrainian players not shaking hands with Russian and Belarusian players after the match, as is customary in the sport. Andreeva herself played Marta Kostyuk in the semis, where there was no handshake after the Russian youngster won.

However, even though these political tensions were lurking subtly in the background, Andreeva did not let it get to her, as she completed her maiden Grand Slam win with a clinical performance in the final.

Mirra Andreeva Played One Her Most Clincal Matches in Her Maiden Grand Slam Final

Playing well in crucial situations, identifying the opportune moment to attack, and a rock-solid mentality were the three key traits Andreeva showed as she bagged her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros. The youngster and her team had done their homework and identified Maja Chwalinska’s key weapons as net play and the touch shots rather than a strong baseline presence.

The fact that Andreeva herself came to the net ten times more than the Pole is a testament to the teenager’s ability to adapt in the biggest match of her life. The Russian started in a defensive mode, eliciting unforced errors from Chwalinska in the first set. Despite going down 2-3 early, the 19-year-old was clear in her game plan and executed to perfection, even going toe-to-toe in the monnball rallies with her opponent.

Once the first set was secured, the eighth seed put her foot down and raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set. Even when she broke while serving for the match at 5-1, there were no signs of panic from the Russian player, who purposefully went to the baseline and broke the Pole’s serve one last time to secure the silverware.

This match is enough for everyone to see that Andreeva has gone past her mental obstacles, which were so visible a year ago, when the Russian had a meltdown against Lois Boisson as the rowdy French crowd rattled her. Being the underdog, the crowd tried to will Chwalinska on for one last hurrah to complete the fairytale, but it was Andreeva’s day. Now that she has won a Major, expectations of the teenager will be sky-high heading into Wimbledon later this month, with the World No. 6 already having made a quarterfinal run on the grass last year.