Maja Chwalińska's Wimbledon ends with ankle injury at match point

A commanding start

Maja Chwalińska opened her first-round match at Wimbledon with the form that had taken her to the Roland Garros final weeks earlier. The 24-year-old, seeded 20th and given a wild card because entries closed before her Paris run, broke early and controlled the first set 6-2 against world No. 164 Mananchaya Sawangkaew. The Thai qualifier, making her main-draw debut at the Championships, looked nervous and error-prone as Chwalińska dictated from the baseline.

The second set followed a similar script. Chwalińska raced to a 5-2 lead and, on Sawangkaew's serve, earned a match point that would have sealed a swift victory.

The turning point

At that match point, Chwalińska chased a forehand down the line and slipped on the grass, twisting her right ankle. Television cameras caught the immediate grimace. She called for the physio, had the ankle strapped, but was visibly hobbled. Sawangkaew held serve, then broke straight back as Chwalińska could barely move laterally. The qualifier reeled off five consecutive games to snatch the second set 7-5.

The third set was even more one-sided. Chwalińska managed an early break but her movement deteriorated, and Sawangkaew raced to a 6-2 finish to seal a 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 comeback. It was the 23-year-old's first win in a Grand Slam main draw.

Fighting through pain

Despite the injury, Chwalińska refused to retire. The crowd at the All England Club recognised her effort, greeting her at the end with loud chants of "Dziękujemy" (thank you). A member of court staff helped carry her bag to the locker room to relieve the weight on the ankle.

“From the ankle problems when she fell at match point, everything started. Then I heard her say she felt cramps all over her body. So it's unclear if it was connected or not, but she couldn't play.”

Her manager's words underlined how the injury triggered a full-body reaction. Chwalińska is also entered in the doubles with Austria's Sinja Kraus, but her participation there is uncertain.

Reactions and next steps

The cruel timing drew sympathy from tennis commentators. Adam Romer, editor of Tenisklub, described the moment as a ruthless twist of fate.

“The fate of an athlete is cruel. Everything that went Maja's way during Roland Garros, today fate takes away in the most ruthless way. An ankle sprain at match point is particularly ungrateful fate.”

Other Polish journalists recalled Hubert Hurkacz's injury on a set point at Wimbledon two years earlier. Chwalińska's next scheduled tournaments are the WTA 250 in Iasi, Romania (13–19 July) and the Hamburg European Open the following week, both on clay. How soon she can return depends on the severity of the sprain.