Maja Chwalinska could miss out on Wimbledon despite historic run to French Open final
Maja Chwalinska could miss out on playing in the main draw at Wimbledon this year despite her incredible run to the women's singles final at Roland Garros.
The 24-year-old, from Poland, was ranked at world number 114 before arriving in Paris and had only previously won one match at a Grand Slam.
That sole win came all the way back in 2022 at Wimbledon, with this year's French Open being only the second Grand Slam she has qualified for since then.
She defeated former world number four Qinwen Zheng, who is returning from injury, in round one at Roland Garros, before victories over 23rd seed Elise Mertens and 2021 French Open semi-finalist Maria Sakkari.
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A straight-sets victory over France's Diane Perry followed to send Chwalinska into the quarter-finals, where a 7-6, 6-3 win followed against 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya.
Arguably her most impressive win at Roland Garros came in the semi-final, where she again needed only two sets to defeat Diana Shnaider.
Shnaider had won 12 out of the final 13 games to dump world number one Aryna Sabalenka out of the tournament in the quarter-final.
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Chwalinska will take on Russia's Mirra Andreeva in the final, with the 19-year-old also looking to win her first Grand Slam.
The Pole enters the final at world number 21 in the WTA rankings, and will move up to 14th should she become the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam since Emma Raducanu back in 2021.
She is also the first qualifier to reach a French Open final.
But even lifting the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen may not be enough for Chwalinska to appear in the main draw of Wimbledon - even though she would be seeded under the ranking system.
Chwalinska Wimbledon issue explained
There is a cut-off deadline for ranking points ahead of Wimbledon, which is around six weeks before the prestigious tournament gets underway.
Players have to be ranked in the top 104 in the world at the time of the cut-off - meaning Chwalinska narrowly missed out.
Chwalinska can be given a wildcard - and surely, given her French Open performance, she would get one - but that is not guaranteed.
Wimbledon tennis organisers tend to award wildcards to British players, while the potential women's singles participation of the legendary Serena and Venus Williams could throw another spanner into the works.
Last year, seven British players earned wildcards for the Wimbledon women's singles tournament, along with two-time champion Petra Kvitova in what was her final appearance at the event before retiring.
If Chwalinska does not receive a wildcard, she would have to progress through the qualification stage at Wimbledon.
Former ATP world number one Andy Roddick believes that the Pole should be given one - though outlined the hurdles she may have to jump through if she doesn't win the final at Roland Garros.
"When Chwalinska put her wildcard request in it was before today, they said that she already put it in," Roddick said on his 'Served' podcast.
"[Lois] Boisson didn't get it last year with her run to the semis [of the French Open].
"If you are 25 in the world, are you deserving? Yes, but she is not getting screwed out of a position if they don't give it to her. That's just not the way it works.
"And they would be talking a wildcard away from a British player, potentially, or taking a wildcard away from the ability to trade one. So if there is a British prospect, [Jack] Draper is not directly entered into the US Open right now.
"I know the genders don't align but I'm using it as an example. If there is a Draper-like person they want to get into the US Open, they would reach out to the USTA and trade a wildcard, and they're in.
"She [Chwalinska] should get one, for sure. It would be a great story. I hope she gets it."
Ryan Smart