PARIS, June 6 (Reuters) - Mirra Andreeva announced herself as the latest ⁠member of women’s tennis’s elite on Saturday when she beat surprise finalist Maja Chwalinska 6-3 6-2 to become the youngest French Open champion in more than three decades.

The 19-year-old ⁠Russian, long regarded as one of the sport's brightest prospects, delivered on her promise on the biggest stage of all, claiming a maiden Grand Slam title and ‌joining the select group of active major champions led by players such as Iga Swiatek, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.

In doing so, Andreeva became the youngest women's singles champion at Roland Garros since Monica Seles won her third consecutive title in Paris in 1992, a milestone that underlined the Russian's precocious talent and the scale of her achievement.

"I'll be honest, I've done a lot of visualisations before. Not just this tournament, but I've had dreams, I've had a lot of thoughts on how ​it's going to happen, if it's going to happen, when it's going to happen, where," Andreeva told reporters.

"I would ⁠say the feeling in real life is so much better, obviously, than in ⁠your dreams... looking at this trophy and realising that this is actually true, and I can call myself a Grand Slam champion."

While Chwalinska's remarkable run from qualifying captured the imagination and triggered ⁠praise ‌from the greats of the game over the past fortnight, the final belonged to a player who increasingly looks equipped to shape the sport's future.