Qualifier Maja Chwalinska reaches French Open final in historic run

Maja Chwalinska’s left hand carries a tiny word, “free,” and on Thursday that private reminder sat beside one of the most improbable results in Roland Garros history. The 24-year-old Pole beat Diana Shnaider 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the French Open final as a qualifier, becoming the first woman ever to do so in Paris and only the second woman in the Open era to reach a Grand Slam singles final through qualifying.

The run has been built point by point, beginning in qualifying and continuing through nine straight victories at Roland Garros. Chwalinska did not drop a set through the early rounds and opened the main draw with a statement, beating Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen 6-4, 6-0. She then added wins over Maria Sakkari, Elise Mertens, Anna Kalinskaya and Diane Parry, with the quarterfinal victory over Parry ending French interest in the women’s singles.

For Chwalinska, the breakthrough carries a force that goes well beyond ranking points. After losing in Wimbledon qualifying in 2021, she took an indefinite break from tennis because of depression, later saying she felt lifeless and unable to get out of bed. She returned after about four months and rebuilt with the help of mental health specialists, then added running and boxing to her recovery. Somewhere in that process, after what she has described as her darkest period, she went to a tattoo parlour and had “free” etched on her hand. She declined to explain the full meaning, saying: “I will keep it to myself. You can make your own stories.”

The sport now sees the outcome in hard numbers. Chwalinska arrived in Paris ranked around world No. 114 and had won only one previous Grand Slam main-draw match before this tournament. Reaching the final guaranteed her at least £1.2 million in prize money and moved her close to breaking into the top 100 for the first time, a target she had set for the season. It is a stark reversal for a player who spent years on the lower tiers, including small events in Italy, before arriving in Paris with little expectation outside her own camp.

Her final opponent will be Mirra Andreeva, with Chwalinska chasing a first qualifier’s title in Paris and only the second Grand Slam singles crown ever won by a qualifier in the Open era. The result also connects this run to an older partnership: Chwalinska once reached the 2017 Australian Open girls’ doubles final with Iga Swiatek. For a player who paused her career to save it, the line between collapse and breakthrough has never looked thinner, or more consequential.