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PARIS — Maja Chwalińska had straightforward goals three weeks ago. There were two of them, but they were simple. Best not to muddle the mind.
Chwalińska, a Polish 24-year-old who had yet to spend a full year on the WTA Tour, had the long-term goal of cracking the top 100 by year’s end. Her short-term aim was to qualify for Roland Garros.
After nine wins on the clay courts of Paris, the world No. 114 is the lowest-ranked French Open finalist in the past 40 years, according to data from Opta.
Chwalińska defeated Diana Shnaider on Thursday, 7-6(4), 6-4 in a semifinal that has a strong claim as the most compelling women’s match of the tournament. With unshakable composure, jaw-dropping shotmaking and extraordinary defense that was especially impressive given her diminutive stature, Chwalińska became just the second qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era. Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open winner, was the first.
She will face 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva in Saturday’s final. It will be her 10th match this French Open, including the three rounds of qualifying.
Thursday featured a semifinal slate full of young players, lesser known than the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff, especially to casual fans. It was the first Grand Slam singles event since 2011 where all of the final four women standing were under 25.
Shnaider, 22 and Chwalińska (pronounced “Hva-LEEN-ska”) were the considerably less experienced pair, and it showed in the freedom with which they played. Chwalińska played the first tour-level semifinal of her career Thursday.
She had the crowd on her side the entire time. Polish fans, accustomed to attending the final weekend of the French Open thanks to four-time champion Iga Świątek, showed out in droves, packing the upper deck where they waved fans and signs. The entire crowd seemed to be backing Chwalińska; when they chanted her name it echoed under the closed roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Crowd support aside, both she and Shnaider were tight because of the magnitude of the match and, perhaps, the way their styles overlapped. Chwalińska, short for a tennis player at 5 feet 5 inches, is a lefty used to chopping it up against her opponents and depriving them of rhythm. Shnaider, also a lefty who stands at 5 feet 7 inches, is an excellent doubles player who’s been to two Grand Slam semifinals and won the Olympic silver medal alongside Andreeva at Roland Garros.
Their first two games took 15 minutes.
Chwalińska and Shnaider quickly settled their nerves, but the extended rallies remained, to the crowd’s delight. They gasped at the shotmaking from both women, and even the DJ on Chatrier couldn’t resist — Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” played during a changeover in the middle of the first set.
Chwalińska and Shnaider were happy to oblige. They carved each other to bits for more than an hour until inevitably reaching a tiebreak, where Shnaider finally grew frustrated that her superior power could not dent Chwalińska’s stupendous defense.
Down 4-5 in the tiebreak on Shnaider’s serve, Chwalińska scrambled to get a racket on a fierce Shnaider forehand to the corner at and managed to float a lob perfectly over her head to earn set point. The crowd lost its mind. Once they quieted down, Chwalińska calmly closed out the set.
The second set carried on much like the first one did, with Shnaider and Chwalińska evenly trading blows.
With Chwalińska about to serve from 3-4, Shnaider called for a medical timeout and laid down on the court to receive treatment. It was Chwalińska who had played three extra matches over the course of the tournament, but suddenly Shnaider was struggling with her movement while Chwalińska appeared to have enough life left in her legs to run a marathon.
She settled for extending her run here for one match more after breaking Shnaider to take a 5-4 lead and serving out the match.
Regarding those goals from three weeks ago: Chwalińska is expected to climb to No. 21 in the world by making it to Saturday’s final. She’ll have a new short-term aim when she steps on court for the 10th and final time this tournament.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Tennis, Top Sports News, Women's Tennis
2026 The Athletic Media Company
Continue reading...
Chwalińska, a Polish 24-year-old who had yet to spend a full year on the WTA Tour, had the long-term goal of cracking the top 100 by year’s end. Her short-term aim was to qualify for Roland Garros.
After nine wins on the clay courts of Paris, the world No. 114 is the lowest-ranked French Open finalist in the past 40 years, according to data from Opta.
Chwalińska defeated Diana Shnaider on Thursday, 7-6(4), 6-4 in a semifinal that has a strong claim as the most compelling women’s match of the tournament. With unshakable composure, jaw-dropping shotmaking and extraordinary defense that was especially impressive given her diminutive stature, Chwalińska became just the second qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era. Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open winner, was the first.
She will face 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva in Saturday’s final. It will be her 10th match this French Open, including the three rounds of qualifying.
Thursday featured a semifinal slate full of young players, lesser known than the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff, especially to casual fans. It was the first Grand Slam singles event since 2011 where all of the final four women standing were under 25.
Shnaider, 22 and Chwalińska (pronounced “Hva-LEEN-ska”) were the considerably less experienced pair, and it showed in the freedom with which they played. Chwalińska played the first tour-level semifinal of her career Thursday.
She had the crowd on her side the entire time. Polish fans, accustomed to attending the final weekend of the French Open thanks to four-time champion Iga Świątek, showed out in droves, packing the upper deck where they waved fans and signs. The entire crowd seemed to be backing Chwalińska; when they chanted her name it echoed under the closed roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Crowd support aside, both she and Shnaider were tight because of the magnitude of the match and, perhaps, the way their styles overlapped. Chwalińska, short for a tennis player at 5 feet 5 inches, is a lefty used to chopping it up against her opponents and depriving them of rhythm. Shnaider, also a lefty who stands at 5 feet 7 inches, is an excellent doubles player who’s been to two Grand Slam semifinals and won the Olympic silver medal alongside Andreeva at Roland Garros.
Their first two games took 15 minutes.
Chwalińska and Shnaider quickly settled their nerves, but the extended rallies remained, to the crowd’s delight. They gasped at the shotmaking from both women, and even the DJ on Chatrier couldn’t resist — Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” played during a changeover in the middle of the first set.
Chwalińska and Shnaider were happy to oblige. They carved each other to bits for more than an hour until inevitably reaching a tiebreak, where Shnaider finally grew frustrated that her superior power could not dent Chwalińska’s stupendous defense.
Down 4-5 in the tiebreak on Shnaider’s serve, Chwalińska scrambled to get a racket on a fierce Shnaider forehand to the corner at and managed to float a lob perfectly over her head to earn set point. The crowd lost its mind. Once they quieted down, Chwalińska calmly closed out the set.
The second set carried on much like the first one did, with Shnaider and Chwalińska evenly trading blows.
With Chwalińska about to serve from 3-4, Shnaider called for a medical timeout and laid down on the court to receive treatment. It was Chwalińska who had played three extra matches over the course of the tournament, but suddenly Shnaider was struggling with her movement while Chwalińska appeared to have enough life left in her legs to run a marathon.
She settled for extending her run here for one match more after breaking Shnaider to take a 5-4 lead and serving out the match.
Regarding those goals from three weeks ago: Chwalińska is expected to climb to No. 21 in the world by making it to Saturday’s final. She’ll have a new short-term aim when she steps on court for the 10th and final time this tournament.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Tennis, Top Sports News, Women's Tennis
2026 The Athletic Media Company
Continue reading...
