French Open in tennis: From qualifying to the final: Chwalinska is living a “dream” in Paris

The 24-year-old had just defeated the Russian Diana Schnaider 7:6 (7:4), 6:4 and became the second qualifier ever to reach a Grand Slam final. Emma Raducanu also achieved the feat at the US Open 2021 – the Brit even won the title back then.

Now against Andreeva

To do this, the world rankings must be 114th. Chwalinska beat the clear favorite Mirra Andrejewa in the final on Saturday. The 19-year-old Russian had recently won the explosive semi-final against Ukrainian Marta Kostjuk (23) 6:1, 6:3 and also reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career.

When asked if she wanted more, Chwalinska replied after a slight sigh: “Let me enjoy this moment for now.” But of course she will “give everything, I mean: it’s a Grand Slam final”. Tennis idol Boris Becker was thrilled and told Eurosport: “A star is born – but this time from Poland.”

Injuries and depression stopped the Polish woman

Chwalinska also played doubles with Poland’s tennis star Iga Swiatek when she was a junior. But then the two’s careers diverged far apart: Swiatek won six Grand Slam titles, Chwalinska was plagued by many injuries and also a period of depression.

Chwalinska also unnerved Schnaider, trained by the German Sascha Bajin, with her patient and tactically varied game. “There are so many balls that are so tempting to hit – and then cause such disappointment,” said former national coach Barbara Rittner at Eurosport.

No handshake with Kostyuk-Andreeva

After the other semifinal, Kostyuk, as expected, refrained from shaking hands with Andreyeva at the net. Ukrainian tennis professionals want to send a signal of protest against the Russian war of aggression in their homeland. “I will never believe anyone who stands on the world stage of this sport and claims that they have no influence or anything like that, because I have experienced it myself,” Kostyuk said afterwards.

Andrejeva, seeded number eight and coached by former Spanish top player Conchita Martínez, once again put in a strong performance and is the favorite in the final on Saturday.

Kostyuk shows nerves

In contrast to Andreeva, Kostyuk showed nerves in her first Grand Slam semi-final. The 23-year-old lost a match for the first time after 16 wins on the tour because she made a total of 34 unforced errors. Apparently she also had problems with the wind before the roof was closed. The audience was mostly on the side of the Ukrainian, but even this support didn’t help much.

After her opening match in Paris, Kostjuk made it public that a rocket had destroyed a building a hundred meters from her parents’ house. At the press conference she also showed a picture on her cell phone that was supposed to show the destruction. Kostyuk said she tries whenever possible to “remind people of the horrors of people’s everyday lives” in their homeland.