Maja Chwalińska falls to Talia Gibson in Toronto second round, earns $28,000
The Polish 24-year-old, returning from an ankle injury, lost 5:7, 1:6 in her first match since Wimbledon. She will next play in Cincinnati.
Return from injury
Maja Chwalińska, the world No. 22 and a surprise finalist at this year's French Open, had been sidelined since Wimbledon, where she injured her ankle in the first round. The injury forced her to skip WTA 250 events in Jassy and Hamburg, and she spent over five weeks in rehabilitation. Toronto was her first tournament back and her debut in the main draw of a WTA 1000 event. Seeded 18th after several withdrawals, she received a first-round bye and entered the competition directly in the second round.
Match against Gibson
Her opponent, 22-year-old Australian Talia Gibson (ranked 74th), had reached the second round after Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto retired at 6:2, 3:2 in their first-round match. Gibson had impressed on North American hard courts earlier in the year, reaching the quarterfinals at Indian Wells and the round of 16 in Miami. The two players had never met before.
The match, lasting 1 hour and 40 minutes (100 minutes per Polsat Sport), began with Chwalińska saving a break point in the second game to level at 1:1. She then broke Gibson at love in the third game, but double faults crept in and Gibson broke back immediately. At 3:3, Chwalińska earned two break points and converted on her third to lead 4:3, yet again failed to consolidate. Serving to stay in the set at 4:5, she fell behind 0:40 but fought back to deuce before Gibson broke to take the set 7:5. During a changeover, cameras showed Chwalińska holding her face, moved by the support from Polish fans in the stands.
The second set saw Gibson dominate, winning the first four games as Chwalińska's game unravelled. The Pole committed six double faults and struggled with unforced errors. She managed a break to get on the board at 1:4, but Gibson held serve and broke again to close out the match 6:1. Chwalińska, who had not won a match since her Roland Garros run, showed flashes of her clay-court form but could not sustain the level on hard courts.
- Chwalińska breaks Gibson's serve to take early lead
- Gibson breaks back immediately
- Chwalińska breaks again to regain advantage
- Gibson breaks to serve for the set
- Gibson holds serve to win first set
- Gibson races to 4:0 lead in second set
- Gibson closes out match with dominant second set
Prize money and Polish contingent
Despite the early exit, Chwalińska earned $28,000 (about 106,000 złoty) for reaching the second round. The total prize pool for the WTA 1000 event in Toronto is $7.433 million. Meanwhile, Iga Świątek, the world No. 1, advanced to the third round with a dominant 6:0, 6:3 victory over Czech Sara Bejlek. Two other Polish players, Magda Linette and Magdalena Fręch, are still in the draw and will play their second-round matches on Thursday.
Next tournaments
Chwalińska will stay in North America for the hard-court swing. She is scheduled to compete at the Cincinnati Open, another WTA 1000 tournament, where the main draw begins on August 13 and runs through August 23. She will again be seeded and start in the second round. Depending on her performance in Ohio, she may then travel to Monterrey, Mexico, for a WTA 500 event from August 23 to 29. The US Open, the year's final Grand Slam, takes place in New York from August 30 to September 13.
