Article by Roxana Fleşeru – Published on Thursday, 04 June 2026 20:19 / Updated on Thursday, 04 June 2026 20:28
Maja Chwalinska (24, 114 WTA) beat Diana Shnaider (22, 23 WTA) 7-6 (4), 6-4. The Pole will meet her in the final on Saturday on Mirra Andreeva (19 years old, 8 WTA).
The second women's semifinal of this edition of Roland Garros featured Maja Chwalinska and Diana Shnaider, both of whom were in this phase for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament.
The Pole is making her first appearance in the main draw at Roland Garros, coming from the qualifiers. A generational colleague of Iga Swiatek, Maja Chwalinska had to overcome a big obstacle in her career.
In 2021, he announced that he had been suffering from depression for over 18 months and would be taking a break.
“At first I forced it. I thought I just had to stay really strong, tough and keep training. But then I just couldn't get out of bed. To be honest, I was exhausted. I knew I had to take a break because otherwise I just couldn't live anymore.
I didn't know if I was going to come back or not. After a few months, I decided to go back. I would say I needed to put my thoughts in order. And I'm back. I'm glad I did it,” she said at a press conference in Paris.
With an atypical game, the Pole climbed the board, where she defeated Zheng, Mertens, Sakkari, Parry and Kalinskaya.
Diana Shnaider, who got past Zarazua, Kessler, Oliynykova, Keys and Sabalenka, knew what to expect from the Pole.
They had dueled in 2022, in an ITF tournament. Asked about that matchup, the Russian said: “I even remember where it happened. It was a $60,000 tournament in Istanbul. It was a semi-final. She's a very awkward player, so it doesn't surprise me that she's gotten so good. Sometimes it just takes time. But, yes, she is very difficult to face with her shorts and slices. He's obviously clumsy, like me, so it'll be a change for me. I feel we will both give it our all on the pitch with a huge opportunity in front of us. I think it will be a very nice match”.
Maja Chwalinska, spectacular comeback
And it really was a beautiful match, a contested one, in which it was played varied, with short, lobs and impossible angles. The first set lasted one hour and eight minutes, and the winner was decided in a tie-break.
During his previous 12 games there were only two breaks, one after the other, so neither of them managed to pull away. Playing with rhythm, with no rhythm, with impossible shots frustrated Shnaider, who vocally expressed his displeasure. In the tie-break, the player from Russia led 3-1 and 4-2, but the Pole came back and prevailed 7-4.
The second part started with two breaks, but then it went with service, continuing on the same paths started in the first set. Both requested the intervention of the physiotherapist, the Polish woman needed a pill, while the Russian accused problems in the lumbar area.
Exhausted and with no solutions, the Russian surrendered her serve for the third time at 4-4, and Maja was serving at 5-4. He closed out the semifinal with a backhand down the line and 7-6 (4), 6-4, then crashed to the clay.
In the final, Maja Chwalinska will meet Mirra Andreeva, a duel for the first time. Only Emma Răducanu, at the US Open in 2021, managed to win a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era, coming from the qualifications.
