Garbine Muguruza has defeated Serena Williams in the French Open final to lift her maiden Grand Slam title.

The world number four, a finalist at Wimbledon last year, came out on top 7-5 6-4 at Roland Garros to stun her American opponent and earn her first taste of success on the big stage.

After saving two break points early in the first set, Muguruza managed to snatch Williams's serve thanks to a double fault from the world number one.

The Spaniard was buoyed by the point and even Williams had to praise her opponent's form when she shot a slick forehand winner down the line to hold serve.

Williams, who had been below par by her standards in the tournament, managed to break back to draw 4-4, but the American was stunned again when Muguruza earned a break point with a backhand shot.

The momentum was firmly with the 22-year-old as she wrapped up the first set with a thumping shot towards the bottom corner, which Williams failed to return.

The top seed, who has won the French Open three times in her career, failed to respond as she lost serve instantly at the start of the second set following a handful of errors.

The 34-year-old broke back, though, thanks to two double faults from Muguruza, which could have been costly, but the Spaniard responded with another break after Williams smashed the ball into the net with a backhand.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion struggled to find her feet on the clay court, but she battled hard to deny Muguruza taking match point on her serve.

Despite battling valiantly, Williams was unable to hold off her opponent for much longer, though, and Muguruza finally managed to get over the line with her fifth championship point.

Defeat for the American means that Steffi Graf's Grand Slam singles record of 22 titles remains intact for another few weeks at least, with Wimbledon next on the calendar later this month.