Qualifier Chwalinska Reaches French Open Semifinal

A player who once thought she'd never return to tennis just reached her first Grand Slam semifinal at the French Open.

Maja Chwalinska, ranked 114th in the world, defeated Anna Kalinskaya 7-6, 6-3 on Wednesday to continue a dream run in Paris. The 23-year-old Polish qualifier stood open-mouthed in shock after clinching the win on a windy Parisian afternoon.

Her journey makes this moment even sweeter. In 2021, Chwalinska took an indefinite break from tennis after struggling with depression for two years. She'd lost her love for the sport and didn't know if she'd ever compete again.

"I honestly don't know what is going on," Chwalinska told the cheering crowd after her victory. "Every match here is kind of crazy for me."

She arrived at Roland Garros with only two career wins in WTA Tour main draws. Her sole Grand Slam match victory came at Wimbledon in 2022. Now she's riding an eight-match winning streak on clay, having dropped just one set along the way.

Chwalinska found her way back to tennis gradually, inspired partly by other players like Naomi Osaka speaking openly about mental health. She tried other sports briefly but kept gravitating back to the tennis court. With support from those around her, she rediscovered why she'd fallen in love with the game in the first place.

Why This Inspires

What makes Chwalinska's run so special isn't just the wins. It's watching someone play with pure joy after nearly losing everything. She's beaten two seeded players and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen with infectious freedom and creativity. She held her nerve against Kalinskaya even after blowing a 5-1 first set lead, rallying to win the tiebreak and seal the match.

The rewards reflect her breakthrough. Chwalinska will jump into the world's top 30 and has earned £647,700 in prize money, more than doubling her entire career earnings in just 10 days. But the numbers tell only part of the story.

World number one Aryna Sabalenka could await in the semifinals. Whether Chwalinska wins or loses, she's already proven something far more valuable than any ranking: that comebacks are possible, even when you can't see the path forward.

She's only the sixth qualifier in the Open era to reach a women's Grand Slam semifinal and just the second at the French Open since 2020. Every point she plays from here is a victory over the darkness that once kept her from the sport she loved.