First qualifier ever to reach the Roland Garros final
Left-handed, two-handed backhand — the Polish qualifier who beat five top-50 players en route to the 2026 Roland Garros final, jumping 93 ranking places to No. 21 in a single week.
Career-High Rank
No. 21
8 JUN 2026
Current Rank
No. 21
8 JUN 2026
Age
24
B. 11 OCT 2001
WTA 125 Titles
3
MIECHÓW, POL
Birthplace
Miechów, Poland
Residence
Dąbrowa Górnicza, Poland
Height
164 cm (5'5")
Plays
Left-handed
Backhand
Two-handed
Best Slam
Roland Garros F (2026)
Two weeks before Roland Garros 2026, Chwalińska had never beaten a top-50 player. Ranked No. 114 and playing only her third Grand Slam main draw — her first in Paris — she came through qualifying and then took down five top-50 opponents in a row: Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari, Anna Kalinskaya and Diana Shnaider, with a win over Diane Parry in between. That made her the first qualifier ever to reach the Roland Garros final, and only the second qualifier to reach any major final after Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open. Mirra Andreeva stopped her there, 6-3, 6-2, but the fortnight lifted her 93 ranking places to No. 21.
"I'll never forget these three weeks." — After the Roland Garros final, June 2026 · WTATENNIS.COM
The run carried extra weight because of where it started. In 2021, aged 19, Chwalińska stepped away from tennis entirely, having battled severe depression since late 2019; she has said she did not know whether she would come back at all. She rebuilt her career the slow way — through ITF events and three WTA 125 titles between December 2024 and April 2026 — arriving in Paris, by her own account, without a single sponsor.
"Honestly, I didn't know if I was going to come back or not."
ON HER 2021 BREAK FROM TENNIS · TENNISUPTODATE.COM"To be honest, I felt lifeless."
ON HER DEPRESSION BEFORE STEPPING AWAY · CLAYTENIS.COM"I don't have any sponsors, so I suppose that's the story."
ON REACHING A SLAM FINAL UNSPONSORED, ROLAND GARROS 2026 · CLAYTENIS.COM