Maja Chwalinska has made history after reaching the Roland Garros final.
Chwalinska was ranked as the world number 114 coming into the tournament, and had never even played a main draw match at Roland Garros before this year.
After coming through qualifying, Chwalinska had beaten the likes of Anna Kalinskaya, Maria Sakkari and Qinwen Zheng to reach the semi-finals in Paris.
Chwalinska has continued this run after beating Diana Shnaider 7-6(4), 6-4, by becoming the first qualifier to reach the Roland Garros final, but it appears that the number of matches she has played in Paris have taken their toll.
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After beating Shnaider in straight sets, Chwalinska was asked for her initial reaction in the on-court interview on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but she appeared almost speechless.
“Like a dream, honestly. I don’t know what’s going on,” answered Chwalinska. “I’m just…I don’t know what to say I’m sorry, I’m just very happy.”
It has been a busy three weeks for Chwalinska, who has now played nine matches and was sporting a heavy strapping on her left leg.
Chwalinska also received a medical timeout during the match to take some medication, and she was asked about how she was feeling after her semi-final victory.
“I mean not great, I won’t lie,” Chwalinska admitted. “I mean it’s so challenging to play against the best players in the world day by day, but it’s a Grand Slam so you’ve just got to give your all and more. Yeah, I’m not complaining at all!”
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Chwalinska will play Mirra Andreeva, who beat Marta Kostyuk in her semi-final, for the Roland Garros title.
Andreeva’s coach and former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez was seen watching Chwalinska’s match, and the Polish player was asked about her upcoming opponent in the Roland Garros final.
“I mean I’ve played eight matches here already or more, so yeah there are no secrets!” said Chwalinska. “I watched Mirra a bit, they were playing before us so I watched her game and it was incredible, so it’s just another great experience for me. I for sure will give it my all, it’s a Grand Slam final so, I mean.”
Chwalinska now has a day off before the Roland Garros final, and she appears to be planning to not do much other than recover physically ahead of her match with Andreeva.
“Well let me enjoy this moment for now! I just want to breathe a little, enjoy it today and then just recover as much as I can just to be able to give it my all,” concluded Chwalinska.
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Chwalinska has made history at Roland Garros as the first qualifier ever to reach the final in Paris, and she is also one of only two qualifiers to reach the final at any Grand Slam tournament.
The only other player to achieve this is Emma Raducanu, who won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier without dropping a single set.
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Chwalinska has dropped just the one set in Paris, and she is now one win away from joining Raducanu as a qualifier to win a major.
Regardless of what happens in the final, Chwalinska has already confirmed that she will climb nearly 100 places in the WTA rankings, as she is now forecast to be the new world number 21.
Chwalinska will become the world number 14 if she beats Andreeva on Saturday, June 6, when the 2026 women’s singles final at Roland Garros takes place.
