Poland's Chwalińska reaches French Open final from qualifying

Maja Chwalińska became the first player to reach the Roland Garros final from the qualifying rounds after defeating Diana Shnaider in Thursday's semifinal.

Maja Chwalińska of Poland celebrates winning her Women's semifinal match against Diana Shnaider of Russia at the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2026.

EPA/MOHAMMED BADRA

Chwalińska, a 24-year-old from Dąbrowa Górnicza who entered Roland Garros through three rounds of qualifying, defeated Diana Shnaider to advance to the French Open final, completing one of the most remarkable runs in Polish tennis history.

The unseeded Chwalińska has eliminated a string of prominent opponents in Paris, including Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari, Diane Parry and Anna Kalinská, before dispatching the Russian in the semifinals.

"Every match is a little bit of madness for me", Chwalińska said.

She will face 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva in Saturday's final. Andreeva secured her place in the title match by defeating Ukraine's Marta Kostiuk in the first semifinal.

The run carries significant financial and ranking rewards. Chwalińska will earn EUR 1.4 million — approximately PLN 6 million — for reaching the final. Her points tally will rise to 1,996, lifting her to No. 21 in the WTA rankings.

(jh)

Source: Polish Radio