Maja Chwalinska: A breakthrough of epic proportions

We’d like to believe that there has been a certain affinity between Polish women’s tennis players and Roland Garros in the past few seasons. Former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek etched her name in French Open history after winning four French Open singles titles in recent years and now it’s the turn of her friend and compatriot Maja Chwalinska to hog the limelight after her remarkable run at this year’s French Open.

Ranked 114 in the world and coming through from the qualifiers, Chwalinska defied all logic and prediction to reach the Women’s Singles Final in Paris. Chwalinska produced a magical campaign on the red clay in Paris and even though she lost to a Top 10 player in Mirra Andreeva in straight sets, this was an incredible achievement for the left-handed Pole. Chwalinska not only broke into the Top 30 (World No. 21) after this tournament, she also became only the second women’s player in the open era after Emma Raducanu to reach the final of a grand slam coming from the qualifiers after Raducanu achieved this feat in the 2021 US Open final although Raducanu won the tournament as well. 

Here, we take a look at her early days, her playing style, her struggles and what to expect from her going forward.

Early Days and Playing Style

Maja Chwalinska grew up in an Industrial town in Southern Poland and started her tennis training at the age of seven. Before transitioning to the senior circuit, Chwalinska had impressed at the junior level and was regarded as a tennis prodigy in Poland. She produced incredible results at the junior level as a doubles player alongside Iga Swiatek which includes the Junior Fed Cup title (2016) and reaching the final of the Girl’s doubles at the Australian Open in 2017. 

However, Chwalinska’s career didn’t take off like her more popular compatriot Swiatek who has won 25 career titles so far which includes six grand slams, 11 WTA 1000 titles and the prestigious year-ending WTA finals, also having reached the World No. 1 ranking. She could only manage qualifiers and a few main draw games at certain tournaments while Swiatek went on to win prestigious titles, taking the tennis world by storm. 

Chwalinska is a 24-year-old left-handed player whose playing style is more suited to the clay and grass surface as opposed to the faster hard courts. She has great agility for faster court coverage,  possesses an exceptional touch and is adept at hitting volleys and exquisite drop shots. In addition, she possesses superb game awareness and an incredible tennis IQ that we witnessed during the recently concluded French Open. 

Her Struggles that resonate with most lower-ranked players

For players outside the Top 100, the picture is not so perfect. While the likes of Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek have no dearth of sponsors, much lower-ranked players have to go through a lot of financial struggles with next to no steady income and relatively smaller teams to even compete at the big tournaments. 

For context, the 24-year-old Chwalinska’s situation was so challenging that she was finding it difficult to even extend her hotel bookings for the next round until a Polish beverage brand Oshee stepped in as a sponsor to help extend her stay. 

Chwalinska also struggled with mental health issues in 2021 and suffered from depression for a period of about 18 months which saw her step away from the tennis court. Having received help from mental health professionals, she made a return to professional tennis after a four-month break that helped her recover from her struggles. 

Sportspersons are also human beings and akin to the same emotions that we all go through. Also, professional tennis is a tough arena and repeated failures, performance pressures and financial issues over a gruelling tennis calendar could possibly contribute to both mental and physical duress. 

These are some of the areas that the WTA should address in order to ensure that the playing field is a little less challenging and unfair for the lower-ranked players. Having said that, even top-ranked players suffer from fatigue, injuries and mental health issues if not financial ones due to an expansive portfolio of sponsorship deals. 

The women players on the senior circuit should get appropriate support from the WTA in terms of improved earnings from matches, a slightly more relaxed tennis calendar and the required health-related assistance to improve their situation so that we get to witness these beautiful breakthrough stories at future tournaments. Not only will it lead to the improvement of the player but also enhance that unpredictability factor in the women’s game which makes it so intriguing to watch.Moreover, churning out new talented players would be an added bonus, mixing up the draw and further leading to increased viewership of Women’s Tennis. 

What to expect from Chwalinska going forward

Chwalinska’s move to the WTA Tour didn’t culminate in outstanding success like her much popular former doubles partner over the past few years but by reaching the final at Roland Garros after coming through from the qualifiers and playing under the gruelling Paris heat, she has just shot to instant fame in the tennis world. 

Since rising from World No. 114 to World No. 21, a massive jump of +93 places in the WTA Tour Singles Rankings, Chwalinska shouldn’t really focus on big objectives but small strides of producing consistent performances. SHe should be looking to participate in a lot of WTA 250 or WTA 500 competitions this season before aspiring to challenge for the bigger WTA 1000 or grand slam tournaments. 

Going into the grass court season, Chwalinska might not receive a wildcard and will probably have to go through the qualifiers again at the upcoming grass tournaments. However, her run at the recent French Open would have given her immense confidence and belief that she can compete against the top performers on the playing field. Grass is certainly a surface where she can perform well as her net play is really strong provided she doesn’t get a really tough early draw. The only drawback for her could be playing on the hard courts as she doesn’t possess the hard-hitting power game required to succeed on that surface. That is definitely an area she could try to improve on by increasing her serve and shot speeds.  

For now, though, Chwalinska has captured the imagination of the tennis world. Not only did she display calmness, composure and intelligence on the tennis court, her dignified and humorous off-court persona also endeared her to the fans in Paris. This was her first big run which has also attracted a host of big sponsors that could help her manage her financial situation in a better manner. 

This was the kind of breakthrough most tennis players dream of. Chwalinska now possesses that invaluable experience of playing at the biggest stages while also gaining massive insight in dealing with expectations and handling intense pressure.  

We hope this unforgettable Roland Garros campaign serves as a reminder of her undeniable potential and inspires Chwalinska to further develop her game so that she continues to  enthrall us with her unique brand of tennis that came as a breath of fresh air in comparison to the hard-hitting style that is dominating modern day tennis. We are incredibly excited to see what lies ahead for her as she begins her journey towards becoming a top, top player!