Maja Chwalinska might not get to play at Wimbledon even after her amazing run to the French Open final.
Maja Chwalinska might miss out on playing in Wimbledon’s main draw this year, even after her amazing run to the women’s singles final at Roland Garros.
The 24-year-old from Poland was ranked 114th in the world before Paris and had only won one Grand Slam match before. That one win happened back in 2022 at Wimbledon. This year’s French Open was only the second Grand Slam she has qualified for since then.
At Roland Garros, she beat some tough opponents, like former world number four Qinwen Zheng, who was coming back from injury, and 23rd seed Elise Mertens. She also won against 2021 French Open semi-finalist Maria Sakkari. After a straight-sets win over France’s Diane Perry, Chwalinska made it to the quarter-finals and then beat 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya 7-6, 6-3.
One of her best wins was in the semi-final, where she defeated Diana Shnaider in two sets. Shnaider had just knocked out world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.
Chwalinska will now face Russia’s Mirra Andreeva in the final—Andreeva is also trying to win her first Grand Slam. Chwalinska is currently ranked 21st, but if she wins, she’ll move up to 14th and become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam since Emma Raducanu in 2021. She’s also the first qualifier ever to reach a French Open final.
But even if Chwalinska wins the trophy, she might not get into Wimbledon’s main draw right away. That’s because there’s a ranking cut-off about six weeks before Wimbledon starts, and players need to be in the top 104 to qualify automatically. Right now, Chwalinska just missed that mark.
She could get a wildcard, and with her French Open success, it seems likely—but it’s not guaranteed. Wimbledon usually gives wildcards mostly to British players, and with Serena and Venus Williams possibly playing, it could get tricky. Last year, seven British women got wildcards, and Petra Kvitova also received one for her final Wimbledon before retiring.
If she doesn’t get a wildcard, Chwalinska would have to go through qualifying rounds at Wimbledon.
Former world number one Andy Roddick thinks she should get a wildcard but explained the challenges she faces. He said on his podcast, “‘When Chwalinska put her wildcard request in, it was before today, and she already did. Last year, Lois Boisson didn’t get one after reaching the French Open semis. If you are 25 in the world, you deserve one. But it’s not like she’ll lose a spot just because she doesn’t get it.”
Roddick added that Wimbledon sometimes has to choose between British players for wildcards, and they can trade wildcards at other tournaments to help local prospects. “She should get one for sure. It would be an amazing story. I really hope she does.”