Chwalinska On Top Goal, Possible Wimbledon Wild Card
By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, June 6, 2026
Photo credit: Tim Clayton/Getty
Fairy tales don’t always end in heroic heights.
Drained qualifier Maja Chwalinska saw her French Open fairy-tale run shattered by scene-stealing Mirra Andreeva.
Charging through nine straight games, the 19-year-old Andreeva sent clay Cinderella Chwalinska packing in a dominant 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Still, the first qualifier to reach the Roland Garros women’s final in history leave Paris celebrating a career-changing rise.
Winning nine matches during the French fortnight propels the 114th-ranked Pole to a new career-high ranking of No. 21 in the WTA Live Rankings.
Leaving court Chatrier with sadness, Chwalinska can looked back on her Paris adventure with pride.
“Yeah, definitely unforgettable three weeks for me,” Chwalinska said. “Yeah, such a great time. I’ll never
forget these three weeks, for sure.
“Definitely very challenging one today. Mirra was much better player today, and she deserved to win. But definitely I’m proud of my effort. I obviously gave my all. Yeah, I think I can be proud of myself.”
Contesting just her third career major main draw, the Polish left-hander toppled Olympic gold-medal champion Zheng Qinwen and three seeds during a nine-match surge to her maiden major final.
Along the way, the gritty Chwalinska won legions of fans for her fearless play, masterful mix of spins, daring drop shot use and sheer grit. Chwalinska, a who grew up playing with six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek, has grown into a popular presence back home. A Polish journalist from Eurosport-Poland reported to TNT Sports Chwalinska’s semifinal victory over Diana Shnaider was more widely viewed in Poland than Swiatek’s four French Open finals.
Reflecting on her remarkable run, Chwalinska said she hopes it will light the way for players toiling outside the Top 100 to keep chasing the yellow ball and their major dreams.
“I know many, many great players that are ranked outside top 100. You know, it’s such a thin line now,” Chwalinska said. “I feel like a lot of things need to click.
“But yeah, for sure there are so many great players. Yeah, I wish them all the best. I hope that my story these last days were inspiring for them. Yeah, I’ll see them in the, let’s say, top 50 now, yeah, so.”
While the victory vaults her to a career-high No. 21, Chwalinska doesn’t qualify as a Wimbledon seed because The Championships entry ranking was based on rankings from Monday, May 18th when she was residing outside the Top 100.
Asked if she’s hoping for a Wimbledon wild card, the Pole replied “That would be the news of the century,” adding Wimbledon is the only grass-court event she plans to play following a well-deserved vacation.
“Well, I mean, that would be news of a century, you know. Honestly, yeah, I don’t expect it,” Chwalinska said. “But yeah, I mean, I’ll see. I will treat it as a challenge.
“It’s a new surface. I don’t have much time, but yeah, I’ll give my all, you know, and we’ll see. But I’m excited. Grass is always a nice kind of change…
“Even before Roland Garros, I said that I need vacation after the tournament. So now it’s, like, three weeks that I’m kind of, like, not waiting, because I wanted to be here, but I just knew back in my head that I’m going for the vacation after French Open. Yeah, definitely need some time to recharge, and I’m going to play only Wimbledon this year.”
For now, Chwalinska has a simple goal: Enjoy a good meal.
Nerves were an appetite suppressant during her thrill ride trip to the final and while her team carbo loaded with nightly pizza parties, Chwalinska could barely eat.
Following the final, Chwalinska said she’s looking forward to the simple pleasure of eating dinner as a Grand Slam finalist.
“I was definitely stressed, but I was stressed before every single match, to be honest,” Chwalinska said. “I couldn’t eat for the last three weeks. Like, my coaches were eating pizza, and I was, like, No (smiling).
“So, yeah, I’m just actually excited to kind of, you know, finish the tournament, and maybe the joy of eating will come back.”
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