Maja Chwalińska storms into Roland Garros quarter-finals as top seeds fall in Paris

A qualifier's dream run

Maja Chwalińska arrived at Roland Garros as the world number 114 and had to survive three qualifying rounds just to enter the main draw. Two weeks later she is the last Polish singles player standing and one of only eight women left in the tournament. Her path has been brutal: Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng (6:4, 6:0), 23rd seed Elise Mertens (6:4, 6:0), former world number three Maria Sakkari (1:6, 6:3, 6:2), and French hope Diane Parry (6:3, 6:2). The 24-year-old from Dąbrowa Górnicza has dropped only one set across those four matches.

This slight girl has just entered the Pantheon of Polish tennis. If someone had said two weeks ago that Maja Chwalińska would be in the Roland Garros quarter-finals and the only Pole at that stage, they would have been called a madman.

The favourites collapse

Chwalińska's run is the headline, but the context makes it extraordinary. Iga Świątek, a four-time Roland Garros champion who had never failed to reach at least the quarter-finals this decade, lost in the fourth round to Ukraine's Marta Kostiuk. Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff and Amanda Anisimova all fell before the last eight. The highest-ranked player still in the draw is Aryna Sabalenka at number one; after her, you have to scroll down to seventh-ranked Elina Svitolina to find another survivor. On the men's side the carnage is even deeper: Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton are all out, with Medvedev and Fritz losing their opening matches.

The quarter-final line-up

Eight women remain. Three are Russian: Diana Shnaider, Mirra Andreeva and Anna Kalinska. Two are Ukrainian: Svitolina and Kostiuk, who will face each other in an all-Ukrainian derby on Tuesday 2 June. Sabalenka takes on Shnaider on Wednesday 3 June. And then there is Chwalińska versus Kalinska, also on Wednesday, on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Kalinska's challenge

Anna Kalinska, the world number 22, reached her second career Grand Slam quarter-final by edging Anastasia Potapova 6:4, 2:6, 7:6(10-7) in a roller-coaster fourth round. Earlier she survived a scare against Camila Osorio (6:3, 0:6, 6:2) and disclosed that she suffered heatstroke during that match on 30 May. "It can feel like heaviness in the legs, in the upper body, or the whole organism. You can feel paralysed or have trouble breathing," Kalinska told Punto de Break. She said she reset by breathing deeply and focusing on her game plan. The Russian has lost one set en route to the quarters, the same as Chwalińska.

A style that confounds

Opponents have struggled to read Chwalińska's game. At 164 cm she lacks the power of the tour's biggest hitters, so she compensates with speed, touch and tactical intelligence. Diane Parry, beaten 6:3, 6:2 in front of a subdued home crowd, admitted she could not find answers. "I tried to adapt but it was extremely difficult. The balls bounced very high. I more or less knew what might happen, but believe me, it is not easy to play her. I couldn't find a solution to her game," Parry said. The Frenchwoman committed 38 unforced errors to Chwalińska's 14. "She is a very astute tennis player. She always tries to hit the ball differently, so it was very hard for me to predict anything."

She was very solid. I think she is a very astute tennis player. She always tries to hit the ball differently, so it was very hard for me to predict anything. I am very tired and that is the effect of her game.

What comes next

Chwalińska is already guaranteed a debut in the WTA top 100; her virtual ranking sits at 49. A win over Kalinska would put her into a Grand Slam semi-final for the first time. The two have never played each other. The exact start time for Wednesday's match will be published on Tuesday afternoon.