French Open star jumps 65 spots to reach the top 50 after an amazing streak
The surprise star of the French Open has made an amazing jump, climbing 65 places into the top 50 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) world rankings.
Maja Chwalinska, 24, became the fourth Polish player to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final after beating France’s Diane Parry in straight sets in the fourth round.
As a qualifier, Chwalinska defeated Zheng Qinwen, Elise Mertens, and Maria Sakkari in her first three matches at Roland Garros. She will now face 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya in the quarter-finals.
Maja is the last player outside the world’s top 25 left in the tournament. She has worked her way up fast, only dropping one set during her run.
At the start of May, Chwalinska was ranked 113th, which was then her best ranking ever. But thanks to her amazing play on the clay courts in Paris, she has moved up to 49th, beating her personal best by a big margin. She’s now ranked just between Petra Marcinko (50th) and Dayana Yastremska (48th).
This French Open was her first time qualifying for the main draw. She has now reached the first round or better in three of the four Grand Slams. Her run to the quarter-finals is also the first time she has made it past the second round at any major tournament.
Maja made her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon in 2022 and has won three singles WTA Challenger titles.
At the top of the rankings, 28-year-old Aryna Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open and the US Open, remains number one, followed by Elena Rybakina and Poland’s own Iga Swiatek, who was knocked out by Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round.
Magdalena Frech is Poland’s second-highest ranked player, sitting at 42nd in the world.
Maja will play Kalinskaya on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday morning in the quarter-finals.
In the other quarter-final, Sabalenka faces Diana Shnaider. The other semi-final is already set, with Kostyuk taking on Mirra Andreeva in a Ukraine vs. Russia matchup after both defeated their opponents in the quarters.