A fairy tale in Paris: Maja Chwalinska turns a fight into a star at the French Open

If you had said before the French Open that Maja Chwalinska would be in a Grand Slam final, it would have sounded more like an opening fairy tale than a prediction. Most would smile politely and ask the same question: who is she? A promising name perhaps, but not one to be written into the grand final script.

She arrived in Paris with just two tour-level victories on clay, which brought with it more uncertainty than expected. On any normal day, this profile belongs to a player who survived the qualifying rounds, not a rewrite of the Grand Slam story. But tennis, like fairy tales, rarely follows logic.

2026 French Open Semi Finals Update

Almost two weeks later, Chwalinska stands on the edge of history. She is one win away from becoming only the second qualifier in the Open Era to lift the Grand Slam trophy after Emma Raducana. It seems to me to be something connected more by faith than probability.

Until months ago, she was a quiet figure in the background of Polish tennis, even briefly seen holding the ice for four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek during the United Cup, where she played a supporting character in someone else’s story.

Only now I realize that it is Maja Chwaliska who supports Iga witka.

My god, how incredible can you be?
pic.twitter.com/dR8C6ZJsZl— Right Fullback in #WM2026 mode (@RechterAV) June 4, 2026

But Paris changed everything. As a figure emerging from the shadows, Chwalinska turned invisibility into immortality and wrote a fairy tale where she was never meant to be a hero, but now she can be anything but.

CHANGE IN THE GAZETTE

Maja Chwalinska entered the French Open ranked world No. 114. Courtesy: Reuters

Chwalinska’s extraordinary run at Roland Garros turned her life upside down in the most dramatic way. The Polish qualifier arrived in Paris ranked 114 in the world and took home a career prize of roughly $861,000 amassed slowly over the years on the ITF and Challenger circuits. Her journey to this point has been anything but smooth, repeatedly disrupted by injuries and periods away from the sport as she struggles to rebuild her form and confidence.

In Paris, her fortunes turned. Nine consecutive victories took her to her first Grand Slam final, turning her from a qualifier into one of the tournament’s defining stories. In less than two weeks, she’s set to earn more than $1.4 million from a single event, more than doubling her career earnings and rewriting the trajectory of her life.

Her rise has also exposed the fragile financial reality beneath professional tennis outside the top ranks. Since the prize money was not distributed until after the tournament, Chwalinska faced uncertainty about basic expenses during her run, including accommodation. Polish company OSHEE then stepped in to subsidize her hotel expenses, allowing her to fully focus on the matches.

Now, buoyed by faith, resilience and opportunity, Chwalinska stands on the brink of something once unimaginable, a Grand Slam title and a story that has reshaped everything she once thought possible.

BATTLE WITH DEPRESSION

Maja Chwalinska has temporarily retired from tennis in 2021. Courtesy: Reuters

Chwalinska’s rise carries far more weight than tennis itself. It’s a story shaped by struggle, silence, and the long journey back from the brink of burnout. Around 2019, as the pressure of professional tennis began to mount, the joy that once defined her game began to slowly fade away. What began as ambition gradually turned into anxiety, emotional exhaustion and a growing sense of imbalance in everyday life.

In 2021, she reached a breaking point after qualifying at Wimbledon. Chwalinska retired from the sport indefinitely, openly admitting she couldn’t get out of bed and felt lifeless, describing a period filled with overwhelming stress and dark thoughts.

“In 2019, I started feeling bad. First on the court, but after I started feeling bad off the court, it made me depressed. Something that I enjoyed the most suddenly became a source of suffering. I associated tennis with pressure, stress and crying,” Chwalinska said after her Wimbledon debut in 2022.

“I dealt with it until last year’s Wimbledon, when I decided to take a break. To be honest, I didn’t know that I would come back because things were not in order. There were dark thoughts. It was difficult to even leave the house. I didn’t feel like doing anything,” Chwalinská added.

When she finally returned, there were no shortcuts or instant success. Instead, she slowly rebuilt herself through the events, step by step regaining confidence, rhythm and belief in her game and in herself.

HOW CHWALINSKA ROARED IN PARIS

Maja Chwalinska will face Mirra Andreeva in the final. Courtesy: Reuters

Chwalinska stormed through the French Open in one of the most spectacular runs to qualify for the final. Her campaign began with a statement in the opening round where she stunned reigning Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen.

The Chinese star, once a Paris quarter-finalist and gold medalist on the same clay courts, was overwhelmed as Chwalinska closed out the match in emphatic fashion, winning the last eight games to seal a dominant finish.

What makes Chwalinsk’s rise even more extraordinary is how little precedent there was for it. Prior to this tournament, she was undefeated against top 50 players in Grand Slam main draws, with only limited experience at this level. In Paris, however, she completely rewrote that story, collecting four victories over top-50 opponents en route to the final.

Against Diana Shnaider in the semifinals, she may not have been the stronger shooter as Shnaider hit the ball cleanly and aggressively. But Chwalinska excelled where it mattered most, in composure, timing and mental strength, and when it mattered, she eventually outplayed her opponent.

Now, as she prepares to face Mirra Andreeva in the final, the outcome is almost secondary. Her journey has already become bigger than the scoreboard, a reminder that resilience, faith and perseverance can lift someone from their darkest places.

And if he wins, it will become a generational story of perseverance, proof that even in the worst of times, there is always a way back to the light.

– The end

Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

05 Jun 2026 04:00 IST