French Open 2026: Qualifier Maja Chwalinska reaches maiden Major semi-final
What's the story
Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska stunned 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya in the 2026 French Open quarter-final. Chwalinska reached her maiden Grand Slam women's singles semi-final after beating Kalinskaya 7-6(3), 6-3 on Court Philippe-Chatrier after over an hour. Notably, Chwalinska made her maiden main-draw debut at Roland Garros this year. She is now 5-0 at the Slam. Here are the key stats.
Stats
A look at match stats
After losing the opening game, Chwalinska earned successive breaks to gain a 5-1 lead. However, Kalinskaya bounced back by winning four successive games. The set eventually went to the tie-break, which was rather straightforward. Chwalinska won 82 points, while Kalinskaya fired 36 winners in the match. The former had a win percentage of 80 on her first serve.
Journey
Sixth qualifier with this record
Earlier, Chwalinska won her three qualifying matches to make the 2024 Roland Garros main draw. As per Opta, she is the sixth qualifier in the Open Era to reach the women's singles Grand Slam semi-final. She is only the second player to do so at the French Open, joining Nadia Podoroska. The latter reached the 2020 Roland Garros semis.
Information
Another record for Chwalinska
As per Opta, Chwalinska is also the second Polish player in the Open Era to reach the women's singles semi-finals at Roland Garros, joining Iga Swiatek. The former is now 5-0 at the French Open and 10-2 at Grand Slams.
Information
Kalinskaya's maiden French Open quarter-final
On the other hand, Kalinskaya had earlier reached her maiden quarter-final at the French Open. She now exits with a 5-5 Roland Garros. Overall, Kalinskaya is now 23-22 at Grand Slams.