Maja Chwalińska reaches French Open semi-final, matching Open Era record for a qualifier

A qualifier's run for the ages

Maja Chwalińska arrived at Roland Garros ranked 113th in the world and had to win three qualifying matches just to enter the main draw. She then eliminated Qinwen Zheng, Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari, and home favourite Diane Parry before facing 22nd seed Anna Kalinska in Wednesday's quarter-final. The 24-year-old from Dąbrowa Górnicza, who represents BKT Advantage Bielsko-Biała on the domestic circuit, had never previously advanced beyond the early rounds of a Grand Slam.

The dream continues. Maja Chwalińska has equalled the best result achieved by a qualifier at Roland-Garros in the Open Era.

Wind, a collapse, and a tie-break recovery

Conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier were far from ideal. After last week's heatwave, Wednesday brought gusty wind and cool temperatures that made ball control unpredictable. Chwalińska adapted faster, racing to a 5-1 lead in the first set with her signature drop shots and sliced backhands forcing errors from Kalinska. The Russian then mounted a furious comeback, winning four consecutive games to level at 5-5 before the Pole steadied to force a tie-break, which she dominated 7-3 after 72 minutes.

It may have looked like I was calm, but the emotions were incredible. I was just trying to do my job as best I could. The conditions weren't easy, the wind was strong, the ball was going crazy.

Closing it out

Kalinska started the second set aggressively but her energy faded after holding her opening service game. Chwalińska broke twice to lead 5-2, and although the Russian pulled one game back, a flurry of unforced errors handed the Pole a 6-3 second set and a place in the last four. It was the first time in the tournament that Chwalińska had dropped her opening service game, yet she recovered without panic.

Now a Netflix film, sleep, and tomorrow we play.

Empty seats on the biggest stage

The quarter-final was played in front of a sparse crowd on the 15,000-capacity centre court. Eurosport reporter Paweł Kuwik predicted before the match that late-arriving fans would fill the stands, but photographs taken during the first set showed large sections of empty seats. Interia's correspondent Artur Gac noted that he personally knew several people who had tried and failed to buy tickets, suggesting the issue was not a lack of demand.

Prize money and media explosion

By reaching the semi-final, Chwalińska secured €750,000 (approximately 3.17 million złoty), though she told her press conference that French and Polish taxes would significantly reduce the net amount. The winner's cheque in Paris is €2.8 million, with the runner-up receiving €1.4 million. Meanwhile, the Institute of Media Monitoring reported that the advertising-value equivalent of coverage about Chwalińska between 18 May and 1 June reached 68 million złoty, with 475,000 social-media interactions recorded. May 2026 was the highest single month of media exposure in her career.

Polish fans, naturally accustomed to Iga Świątek's successes, instantly latched onto another captivating sporting story, which is perfectly reflected by nearly half a million social-media interactions. Importantly, Chwalińska's image is being built very organically. The media and internet users appreciate not only her excellent, unconventional technique on court, but also her unpretentious authenticity and modesty off it.

What comes next

Chwalińska will play her semi-final on Thursday against either world number one Aryna Sabalenka or Diana Shnaider. Sabalenka had earlier described the Pole as the tournament's biggest surprise and predicted a major career ahead. Chwalińska's run has already lifted her projected ranking from 113 to 49, with further gains possible depending on the semi-final outcome.