The summer of 2022 found Maja Chwalinka back at the Bank of England Sports Club in Roehampton, a familiar training ground far removed from the main tour. Ranked No 170 at the time, she fought through three demanding Wimbledon qualifying matches against opponents outside the top 150 and earned a place in the main draw. In her debut at the All England Club she recorded a notable victory over world No 79 Katerina Siniakova before being eliminated in the second round. For the next four years that single main‑draw win remained the highlight of her Grand Slam record. The only other occasion she reached a major was at the Australian Open last year, where she suffered a 6‑0, 6‑1 loss to world No 93 Jule Niemeier in the opening round. She has failed to advance beyond the qualifying stage on twelve occasions, and at times her ranking fell so low that she could not enter qualifying at all.
Now, seemingly out of nowhere, she stands on the brink of a historic achievement. A win in Saturday’s final against eighth seed Mirra Andreeva would make her the first qualifier ever to capture the French Open title. Since her first qualifying match on 18 May, the Polish player, now ranked 114, has compiled nine consecutive victories over three weeks, dropping only one set. This run ranks among the most surprising in Grand Slam history and may be second only to Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open triumph, the only other instance of a qualifier reaching a major final. Unlike Raducu nu, whose early career offered little data on her potential, Chwalinka is a known quantity with more than a decade of professional experience.
Standing 1 metre 64 centimetres tall, she lacks the physical power of many rivals. That limitation has forced her to develop a distinctive style of play. At Roland Garros she dismantles opponents point by point, constantly altering the speed, spin and trajectory of her shots and placing the ball in the most difficult positions on the court. Her defensive skills have also been exceptional. Under the pressure of the final weeks of a Grand Slam draw she has become a nightmare opponent. In Thursday’s match Diana Shnaider appeared exhausted in the closing moments, unable to find a solution against her.
In the men’s wheelchair singles final Britain’s Alfie Hewett faces Japan’s Tokite Oda, trailing 3‑2 in the opening set. In the men’s doubles final, Britain’s Henry Patten and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara were unable to add to their Grand Slam tally, losing 6‑4, 6‑2 to defending champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who now hold back‑to‑back titles at Roland Garros. Despite the loss, Patten and Heliovaara will share the world No 1 ranking when the new rankings are released on Monday.
The contrast between the two finalists is striking. Andreeva burst onto the WTA Tour in 2023 as the most precocious fifteen‑year‑old and reached the French Open semi‑finals in 2024. At 19 she appears ready to add a major title to her growing résumé. By contrast, Chwalinka’s path has been far more arduous. After progressing through the junior ranks in Poland alongside Iga Swiatek, she struggled to break through as a professional. A failure to qualify for Wimbledon in 2021 led her to take an indefinite break from tennis because of depression. “I pushed at the beginning, but then I could not get out of bed any more,” she recalled. “I was lifeless. I knew I needed a break. I honestly did not know if I would return.” When she felt strong enough to come back, she qualified for her first Grand Slam, winning a single match at Wimbledon in 2022 – her only major victory before this remarkable run that began in qualifying nineteen days ago. Nine wins and a single dropped set later, Raducu nu’s record as the only qualifier to win a slam is under threat, and the financial pressure of early‑round hotel bills has vanished now that she is guaranteed at least £1.2 million for reaching the final.
What makes Chwalinka’s progress especially compelling is the manner in which she has achieved it. Her craft and cunning have confounded more powerful opponents, offering a nostalgic reminder of a sport once dominated by finesse rather than sheer power. The challenge she now faces is formidable: Andreeva combines heavy hitting with great variety and possesses one of the highest tennis IQs on tour. In Andreeva, Chwalinka meets a more accomplished version of herself. The toughest battle for the Russian may lie on her own side of the net – can she preserve her newfound emotional balance and handle the pressure of being the clear favourite in the biggest match of her career? The answer will be revealed at 15:00 in Paris (14:00 UK). Stay tuned.
