Polish Qualifier Reaches French Open Final After Depression

Five years after depression forced her to leave tennis, Maja Chwalinska is one match away from sporting history.

The 24-year-old Polish qualifier reached the French Open final on Thursday, putting her within reach of becoming only the second qualifier ever to win a Grand Slam. She joins Britain's Emma Raducanu as the only qualifiers to reach this milestone moment.

Back in 2019, Chwalinska left tennis after losing in the first round of Wimbledon qualifying. She was battling depression so severe she couldn't get out of bed and had no idea if she'd ever return to the sport.

She moved back to her family home and worked with mental health specialists to find her way forward. When she felt ready, she took up running and boxing as part of her recovery before returning to tennis four months later.

The journey back wasn't glamorous. Just a year ago, Chwalinska was playing small tournaments in Italian cities like Brescia and Bari, grinding away on the lower levels of the WTA Tour.

Learning to separate her career from her personal life became crucial to her comeback. She had associated tennis with "pressure, stress and crying" and needed to find a new way to approach the game.

Why This Inspires

Chwalinska now plays with a freedom that has captivated Paris crowds over the past three weeks. Her tiny tattoo reading "free" on her left hand seems to capture how she's approached this tournament, though she won't reveal its true meaning.

Her game features creative variety with lobs, drop shots, and moonballs that frustrate opponents, mixed with powerful finishing shots. Along her historic run, she's defeated former French Open semifinalist Maria Sakkari and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

When she hit a forehand winner to seal her semifinal victory, Chwalinska dropped to the clay court in genuine emotion. "Joy, surprise, so many emotions," she said afterward.

Thousands of Polish fans who had bought tickets expecting to see four-time champion Iga Swiatek instead rallied behind Chwalinska on Court Philippe Chatrier. The two are good friends who reached the 2017 Australian Open girls' doubles final together and made their professional debuts at the same small-town tournament in Poland.

Chwalinska has already guaranteed herself at least £1.2 million in prize money, nearly tripling her career earnings. But the real prize comes Saturday when she faces Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva for the championship.

One more win and she'll make history as the first qualifier in the Open era to lift the trophy at Roland Garros.