Former world No.1 Świątek was derailed by a left-leg injury as she went down fighting to her childhood friend Chwalińska 5-7, 1-6 in China on Saturday.
Six-time Grand Slam winner Świątek had to take a medical timeout while trailing 6-5 in the first set and continued the match with a bandaged left thigh, but found it difficult to put pressure on her leg and struggled to chase returns across the court.
Chwalińska will now face Sonay Kartal in the final, after the Briton beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(9) 7-6(5) in the first semi-final.
The Świątek-Chwalińska match marked a milestone for Polish tennis, with two local players reaching the semifinals of the same WTA 1000 event for the first time since the category was introduced in 2009.
The two 25-year-olds, who had represented Poland together at junior level and played doubles as a pair, met for the first time on the WTA Tour.
"It's great that we have two Polish players in the semifinals. It means a lot for Polish tennis," Świątek said after her victory in the quarterfinals.
While the event marked the first all-Polish semifinal at a WTA-level event in the Open Era, Magda Linette and Magdalena Fręch contested an all-Polish final in Prague in 2024.
The Wuhan Open runs until Sunday.
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Source: PAP, Reuters