Fans Cause Russian Flag Controversy After Mirra Andreeva Wins French Open

Mirra Andreeva has officially made the shift from tennis prodigy to teenage champion, defeating Maja Chwalinska in the French Open final on Saturday.

Andreeva, 19, became the youngest woman to win the singles title at Roland Garros since Monica Seles in 1992. Although the opening set started off with four consecutive breaks of serve, Andreeva eventually settled in and secured a routine 6-3, 6-2 victory.

"Of course first of all congrats to Maja for these amazing 3 weeks. Passing through qualies, winning so many matches, beating so many great players, congrats to your team as well. You guys have done an amazing job. You're a very tricky opponent. I wouldn't want to play against you one more time," Andreeva said after winning the trophy. "I wish you the best of the luck for the rest of the season and I hope we play many more finals together in the future."

Unfortunately, there was some controversy inside Chatrier during Andreeva's celebration.

Two fans pulled out a Russian flag to celebrate Andreeva's first Grand Slam title. They were immediately greeted by a security guard who told them to put the flag away.

"As Andreeva celebrated her win, a pair of fans inside Chatrier whipped out and waved a Russian flag to celebrate Andreeva's country," tennis writer Ben Rothenberg said. "A Roland Garros security guard quickly swooped in and had them put it away in the guy's purse."

Tennis fans torn on this drama.

Some people believe these fans were totally wrong for bringing a Russian flag to the event, especially since Russian players like Andreeva aren't allowed to have their national flag displayed next to their name at WTA Tour events.

Others, on the other hand, believe there's a double standard taking place in the world of sports.

"This is so dumb. I've always disagreed with the decision not to show Russian or Belarusian flag by players names," one fan said. "Double standard."

"They should have been ejected… pretty sure it would have been a breach of ticket T&C's…," a second fan declared.

"I bet if there was a US flag, nobody would do anything," a third fan wrote.

"Maybe this is insensitive but i just can't bring myself to care when there are clear double standards in which war crimes the sporting world acknowledges," another fan commented.

We'll see if the four Grand Slam tournaments take a stricter stance on bringing national flags to future events.

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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 11:49 AM.