Maja Chwalinska has been one of the feel-good stories of the 2026 French Open, putting together a remarkable run to the semifinals and carrying Polish hopes following the exit of World No. 3 Iga Swiatek. However, Chwalinska revealed that her journey to this stage has been far from straightforward, opening up about the mental health struggles that once forced her away from the sport.
Ranked No. 113 in the world when she arrived in Paris, Chwalinska first had to navigate three rounds of qualifying to earn a place in the main draw. Once there, the Pole embarked on a stunning run, defeating Zheng Qinwen, 23rd seed Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari, Diane Parry, and 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya 7-6(3), 6-3 to reach the last four.
Following her victory over Kalinskaya, Maja Chwalinska reflected on one of the most difficult periods of her life during a press conference. The Pole recalled taking an 18-month break from tennis in 2021 to focus on her mental health and spoke about the challenges she faced during that time before eventually finding her way back to the sport.
“Well, the break wasn’t very tough,” Chwalinska said. “Like, the tough moments were before the break, I would say. I was struggling a lot. You know, I pushed at the beginning. I thought that I just need to stay very strong, tough, and just keep practicing. Yeah, but then I just couldn’t get out of bed anymore. I was just, like, lifeless, to be honest. Yeah, I knew that I need to take a break, because otherwise I’m just not able to, like, live, I think. Yeah, I needed to take a break, and I honestly didn’t know if I’m gonna come back or not, to be, like, honest with you.”
“Yeah, after, like, months, I decided to come back. I needed to kind of figure a few things in my head, I would say. Yeah. And I came back. I’m happy that I did,” the Pole added.
Maja Chwalinska Aims To Become 1st Qualifier Since Emma Raducanu To Win A Grand Slam
Much like Maja Chwalinska at the 2026 French Open, Emma Raducanu also made a dream run from qualifying to the latter stages of a Grand Slam. Raducanu went all the way at the 2021 US Open, becoming the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a Major.
Chwalinska is well aware of Raducanu’s historic achievement and acknowledged that there is plenty she can learn from her own experience in Paris, regardless of how her tournament ends. The Pole said she intends to take valuable lessons from this run and use them to continue developing her game in the years ahead.
“It was such an impressive run, you know,” Chwalinska said. “Also, she was so young. I think she was 19, right? Do I remember correctly? 18? So, yeah, I think she didn’t drop a set, as well. So it was just incredible. Well, I feel like it’s just, you know, I think the level is, like, very close, like, the qualifying is not like much worse than the main draw.”
“And the players in the qualifying, they are so good, as well. They are great competitors. We just need to kind of believe and, you know, fight and just believe that maybe some day it will click for us, as well. Yeah, that’s what I would take from this experience,” she added.
Standing between Maja Chwalinska and a place in the final is 25th seed Diana Shnaider, whom she will face in the semifinals on June 4. The two have met once before on tour, with Shnaider holding a 1-0 head-to-head advantage after defeating the Pole in Istanbul in 2022.
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