Who is Maja Chwalinska? The Polish qualifier on stunning run to French Open semi-finals
· Yahoo Sports
The women’s French Open semi-finals will feature the eighth, 15th, and either the top or 25th seeds - as well as the world No 114, who came through qualifying on a storming run into the final four.
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Poland’s Maja Chwalinska has won eight matches in a row, including three in Roland-Garros qualifying, to make her maiden grand slam semi-final - and has made history as only the second woman to achieve that feat in Paris, after Nadia Podoroska in 2020.
She came through the junior ranks playing doubles with compatriot Iga Swiatek, who has since risen to the top of the sport and won six grand slam titles, including four at Roland-Garros.
But this time it is the much lower-ranked Chwalinska who is the last Pole standing on the clay - having only one won grand slam match before this tournament, when she beat Katerina Siniakova at Wimbledon four years ago.
Her stunning run has evoked memories of Emma Raducanu’s fairytale run from qualifying to the US Open title in 2021, and provided a second feelgood story in successive years after home favourite Lois Boisson’s run to the semis in Paris last year.
Who is Maja Chwalinska?
Born in Miechów, 40km north of Krakow, Chwalinska was a talented junior doubles player, reaching the girls’ doubles final of the Australian Open in 2017 alongside Swiatek.
She made her senior grand slam qualifying debut at the Australian Open in 2020, before taking an indefinite break from tennis after a first-round defeat in qualifying at SW19 in 2021, revealing that she had suffered from depression.
Then aged 19, she associated tennis with “pressure, stress and crying”, and did not know if she would ever return to the sport.
But after moving back to live with family and seeking professional help, she rediscovered some enjoyment in the sport and returned after four months.
“The results don't define me as much as they did before,” she said. “I just couldn't differentiate [between] Maja and the tennis player. I was just one. I just needed time to kind of figure it out, and also do something else, not just tennis.”
Chwalinska reacts after winning her quarter-final against Kalinskaya (AP)This French Open is only her third major tournament ever, but she has beaten a string of top players, including 2024 Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, 23rd seed Elise Mertens, and former world No 3 Maria Sakkari. All but one of her matches so far have been won in straight sets.
Prior to this French Open she had never beaten a top-50 player; now she has three scalps to her name and counting. She will now shoot up into the top 50 herself off the back of these results.
Due to her ranking Chwalinska primarily plays on the lower-tier ITF and WTA 125 Tours, winning titles at the Florianópolis Open, Brazil; Montreux, Switzerland and most recently in Oeiras, Portugal. All three of her 125 titles have come on clay, while she has also reached five doubles finals on clay, winning three of those.
At 5’5” Chwalinska lacks the height and power of some of her opponents, but the left-hander plays a wily, crafty game, mixing drop shots and slices with looping moonballs and killing the pace of the ball to stifle opponents and break up any rhythm.
Chwalinska's crafty game of slices and drop shots has caused opponents problems (AP)She told the WTA: “I know that I'm playing different tennis than most of the girls on tour. I don't have the [physical] conditions to play strong, so I need to develop a different kind of weapons for myself. I definitely played differently, and I think it helps me a lot against these players.”
The tactic worked excellently against 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya in Wednesday’s quarter-final, with the Russian struggling to break down her defence and find any momentum. Windy conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier also played in Chwalinska’s favour due to the spin and variety in her game.
Chwalinska raced to 5-1 up in the first set before being broken back for 5-2 and again for 5-4, and demonstrated her mental resilience too after Kalinskaya levelled proceedings at 5-5. Chwalinska ultimately prevailed in the tie-break and held off another fightback by the Russian in the second set, coming out on top after 12 breaks of serve in a tense encounter to win 7-6 6-3 and reach the last four.
“I honestly don’t know what’s going on,” she said afterwards, looking amazed. “Every single match here is crazy.”
Chwalinska will play either top seed Aryna Sabalenka or 25th seed Diana Shnaider in the semi-finals.