Diede de Groot dominantly won Roland-Garros and allowed Ksenia Chasteau only one game in the final
Diede de Groot won the women's wheelchair singles title at Roland-Garros 2026 after a very convincing victory over France's Ksenia Chasteau. According to the tournament's official scorecard, the Dutch tennis player won the final on Court Suzanne-Lenglen by a score of 6:1, 6:0, and the match lasted 48 minutes. The final was played on Saturday, June 6, 2026, during the closing weekend of the Paris Grand Slam tournament, which this year ran from May 18 to June 7. De Groot, the fourth seed in the draw, controlled the match from the first exchanges and allowed her opponent to win only one game. Chasteau had strong crowd support on home soil, but in the final duel she found no answer to the rhythm, depth and stability of the shots of one of the most successful players in the history of wheelchair tennis.
Final decided without scoreboard uncertainty
According to Roland-Garros data, De Groot won the first set 6:1 and then completely closed out the match in the second set without losing a game. Such a result clearly shows the difference in experience and execution in the most important moments, especially because Chasteau reached the final with victories over seeded players and players from the very top of world wheelchair tennis. In the final, the Dutchwoman imposed shorter rallies, quickly took the initiative and did not allow the duel to turn into an emotionally inspired performance by the French player in front of her home crowd. The ITF report states that with the victory De Groot ended Chasteau's hopes of becoming the first Frenchwoman with a Grand Slam title in women's wheelchair tennis. After the final point, De Groot approached her opponent at the net, and the ITF reported that she told her that her time would still come.
For De Groot this was her sixth singles title at Roland-Garros and her 24th career Grand Slam singles title, according to the International Tennis Federation. With it, she returned to the biggest stage after a period in which injuries and recovery made her lose the continuity that had made her almost untouchable for years. The ITF states that her previous Grand Slam title was Wimbledon 2024, which makes the Paris victory especially important in the context of a comeback after health problems. De Groot arrived in Paris as the fourth seed, not as the absolute favorite from the top of the draw, which further speaks to the change in the balance of power over the last two seasons. Despite that, she played the final part of the tournament at a level that recalled her most dominant years.
Comeback after injuries and confirmation of historic status
According to the ITF's tournament context, from 2017 to 2024 De Groot was the central figure in women's wheelchair tennis, and during that period she won 23 of the 30 Grand Slam tournaments in which she competed. The same documentation states that at the end of 2024 she underwent hip surgery and missed eight months of competition, while the ITF additionally emphasized in its report after the final that in recent seasons she had also been burdened by shoulder problems. Such a path back explains why the Paris title for her was not only a continuation of statistical dominance, but also confirmation that she can return after a period in which doubts and physical limitations appeared. In her statement after the final, De Groot, according to the ITF, emphasized that the last year had been difficult and that because of that her success in Paris felt almost unreal. Instead of focusing on the result, she described an approach in which she tried to play as she does in training, work for every shot and enjoy competing again.
With the victory in Paris, De Groot moved even closer to the top of the all-time Grand Slam champions list in wheelchair tennis. In its tournament preview, the ITF stated that before Roland-Garros 2026 she had 23 singles Grand Slam titles, and the Paris triumph raised that number to 24. Among women, even before the tournament she was already ahead of Esther Vergeer, whom she surpassed in 2024 on the list of the most successful wheelchair tennis players by number of Grand Slam singles titles. After the final, the ITF also highlighted that De Groot joined Shingo Kunieda and Esther Vergeer as a winner of at least six Roland-Garros titles in wheelchair tennis categories. In a sport that demands explosive movement, rapid changes of direction and precise wheelchair control, such longevity carries special weight.
Chasteau left without the trophy, but achieved the biggest result of her career
Ksenia Chasteau, a twenty-year-old French player, entered the final as one of the biggest surprises and most notable names of the tournament. According to the ITF, she became only the second Frenchwoman to reach the women's wheelchair singles final at Roland-Garros, after Florence Alix-Gravellier in 2010. That fact is especially important because the Paris tournament is played before a crowd that traditionally strongly supports French representatives, and Chasteau was one of the stories of the home part of the competition throughout the entire week. Roland-Garros states in her profile that she is 20 years old, while the official tournament results show that she reached the final after three demanding victories. Although in the final she encountered a level of play she was unable to keep up with, her path to the final match showed that a new generation is emerging in women's wheelchair tennis, one that is increasingly putting pressure on established names.
Chasteau opened the tournament with a victory against the third seed Aniek van Koot, in a match that lasted more than two hours and ended 6:4, 2:6, 6:4. In the quarterfinal she defeated Kgothatso Montjane 6:4, 6:4, and in the semifinal on Court Suzanne-Lenglen she beat the second seed Li Xiaohui 6:3, 6:1. After that semifinal, the ITF reported that Chasteau spoke about strong emotions because she was playing in her first Grand Slam final, and doing so at home, at Roland-Garros. In the same conversation, she reflected on the serious motorcycle accident after which both she and her father lost their left legs, emphasizing that a few years ago she could not have imagined appearing in a major final. Such context does not change the sporting outcome of the final, but it explains why her run had meaning beyond the result itself.
De Groot's path to the title showed growth in form from match to match
The official Roland-Garros profile shows that De Groot did not have a completely easy entry into the tournament in Paris, even though the final impression after the final suggests dominance. In the first round she defeated Lizzy de Greef 6:0, 5:7, 6:1, which was the only match in which she lost a set. In the quarterfinal she beat Guo Luoyao 6:1, 6:2, and then in the semifinal she defeated the top seed and defending champion Yui Kamiji 6:4, 6:2. The ITF reported that this semifinal match lasted one hour and 16 minutes and that De Groot already then looked like a player who was finding her best form again. The final against Chasteau was even more convincing on the scoreboard, and in the end she completed the entire tournament with one lost set and victories against two players who had previously had strong arguments for the title.
It is especially significant that De Groot stopped Kamiji in the semifinal, the top seed and one of her greatest rivals throughout her career. The rivalry between De Groot and Kamiji has marked a large part of the modern history of women's wheelchair tennis, including several finals in Paris and at other Grand Slam tournaments. According to the ITF's tournament preview, both players entered 2026 with the goal of winning a sixth Roland-Garros title, which would have tied them with Esther Vergeer for second place on the list of the most successful players by number of Paris singles titles in all wheelchair tennis categories. Kamiji remained in the semifinal, while De Groot used that opportunity to the fullest. In doing so, the Dutch player showed that, even after injuries and a changed competitive landscape, she can still defeat the strongest opponents in succession.
Roland-Garros 2026 confirmed the depth and competitiveness of wheelchair tennis
The women's wheelchair competition at Roland-Garros 2026 showed how much the discipline has expanded and how much more unpredictable it has become. In its tournament preview, the ITF recalled that Chinese players had achieved historic results in recent seasons, including Wang Ziying's title at Wimbledon 2025 and Li Xiaohui's victory over De Groot in the final of the Australian Open in 2026. It was precisely Li Xiaohui who arrived in Paris as the second seed, but she was stopped in the semifinal by Chasteau, through which the French player produced one of the most important results of her career. At the same time, De Groot, with victories over Guo, Kamiji and Chasteau, passed through different styles of play and generations of opponents. Such an outcome confirms that even in a season in which a great champion was celebrated, the competition was not reduced to one player.
Wheelchair tennis at Grand Slam level is played under the rules of the International Tennis Federation, with the specific feature that a player may return the ball before the third bounce. According to the ITF rules, the second bounce may also be outside the boundaries of the court, which affects tactics, movement and point construction. Still, at the highest level that difference does not diminish the speed of play, because most points are decided by a combination of positioning, wheelchair rotation, anticipation and technical precision. The final on Court Suzanne-Lenglen showed exactly how quickly an experienced player can turn a small advantage into complete control of the match. De Groot was far more efficient in that segment and did not allow Chasteau to free herself from the pressure in front of the home crowd.
Paris as a turning point in the season
For De Groot, this title comes at a moment when the season can develop into a new cycle of her rise. According to the ITF report, her first match on the tour after her shoulder problems came only a few weeks before Roland-Garros, which is why her Paris form was not guaranteed. Ahead of the tournament, the ITF noted that she had already won the Barcelona Open on clay, which was an important signal that physically and competitively she was approaching the desired level. After the Paris title, her season once again takes on a different framework, because she proved that she can connect victories at the biggest tournament on clay and withstand the pressure of the closing stages of a Grand Slam competition. The next major challenges will be an opportunity to confirm whether Roland-Garros was an isolated comeback peak or the beginning of a new period of dominance.
For Chasteau, defeat in the final does not erase the fact that in Paris she achieved a breakthrough that could mark the continuation of her career. According to the official Roland-Garros results, she eliminated Van Koot, Montjane and Li in succession, which is a path that rarely happens by accident. The ITF described her performance as historic for French women's wheelchair tennis, especially because after a long period a home player once again reached the final. In the final duel the gap was large, but the experience of playing before a big crowd and against a multiple Grand Slam champion can become an important part of her development. In a discipline in which careers are often built through long-term adaptation of technique, equipment, physical preparation and mental stability, the Paris result can be a foundation for the next step forward.
Roland-Garros 2026 therefore ended with a double message in women's wheelchair tennis. On one hand, De Groot confirmed her historic status, won her sixth Paris and 24th Grand Slam title, and showed that after injuries she can return to the highest level. On the other hand, Chasteau, in front of her home crowd, went from promising player to Grand Slam finalist, which brings French and international wheelchair tennis a new story for the rest of the season. The official result of the final will remain recorded as one of the most one-sided tournament finals, but the context of the match shows more than just the difference in games. It was a meeting between a generational champion who returned to the top and a young challenger who came so close to the biggest title for the first time.
Sources:
- Roland-Garros – official scorecard of the final between Diede de Groot and Ksenia Chasteau, result, court and match duration (link)
- International Tennis Federation – report on the titles of Diede de Groot, Niels Vink and Tokito Oda at Roland-Garros 2026 and the context of the women's wheelchair singles final (link)
- International Tennis Federation – report on Ksenia Chasteau's progress to the Roland-Garros final and her path to the final match (link)
- Roland-Garros – official profile of Diede de Groot with tournament results and basic player information (link)
- Roland-Garros – official profile of Ksenia Chasteau with tournament results and basic player information (link)
- International Tennis Federation – 2026 ITF Wheelchair Tennis Competition Regulations, including the two-bounce rule (link)