Maja Chwalińska beats Rebecca Sramkova 6-4, 6-2 in Singapore opener

First-round victory in Singapore

Maja Chwalińska opened her WTA 500 Singapore campaign on Monday, 21 September 2026, with a straight-sets victory over Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova. Seeded fifth in the tournament and ranked 25th in the world, the 24-year-old Polish player secured a 6-4, 6-2 win in her first main-draw meeting against the world No. 146. The opening set turned in the fourth game at 30-30, when Sramkova missed an overhead smash into the net and slammed her racket in frustration. Chwalińska converted the ensuing break point to establish a 4-1 lead after saving three break opportunities in the fifth game. Although Sramkova recovered from a 5-2 deficit to pull back to 5-4, Chwalińska broke serve again in the tenth game to close the opening set.

Controlled second set and crowd reaction

The second set saw Chwalińska take command from the baseline and reduce unforced errors. After both players held serve through the opening five games, Chwalińska secured a break in the sixth game to move ahead 4-2. The set featured a backspin recovery shot by Chwalińska that bounced back over the net onto her side, drawing applause and prompting a social media video from the WTA. Chwalińska closed out the contest with another service break in the eighth game. Following the match, she addressed Polish supporters attending the session.

I am very happy that I won today. Every first match in a tournament is very difficult, so I am all the more glad that I am playing on.

Chwalińska acknowledged the crowd presence before leaving the court.

I was wondering how many Polish fans I would see here today, and I thought maybe I would see one flag in the stands. But you are always everywhere, and I am very glad to have you. It is very nice that you came here today to support me.

Rebound after post-Paris slump

The win in Singapore was Chwalińska's second match victory since reaching the Roland Garros final against Mirra Andreeva earlier in the season. Following that tournament, where she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21, Chwalińska endured a difficult period affected by a recent injury. She had managed one win in her previous eight matches, beating Cristina Bucsa in the second round in Cincinnati before exiting the US Open in the first round with a 2-6, 3-6 loss to Taylor Townsend. The result against Sramkova ended a three-match losing streak and a 37-day wait for a match win. The opening victory earned Chwalińska 59 ranking points, lifting her live WTA ranking from 25th to 24th with 1,947 points, moving ahead of Anastasia Potapova and placing her 176 points behind 20th-ranked Jasmine Paolini.

Upcoming singles and doubles fixtures

Chwalińska will play her second-round singles match on Tuesday against the winner of the contest between world No. 47 Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine and world No. 240 Vivian Wolff of the United States. In addition to her singles campaign, Chwalińska entered the doubles draw in Singapore alongside multi-time Grand Slam doubles champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic. Sramkova, who helped Slovakia reach the Billie Jean King Cup final two years ago and reached a career-high rank of 33rd 14 months prior, exits the singles draw in the opening round.