Maja Chwalinska said she didn’t want to throw in the towel during her heartbreaking first round loss at Wimbledon on Monday.
The French Open finalist looked set to be moving into the second round after leading Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-2, 5-2(40-30) before suffering a nasty fall near the baseline, which injured her right ankle. Despite continuing to play, Chwalinska’s movement was clearly limited, and she ended up losing 10 of the next 12 games played. Eventually losing the match 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 to the qualifier.
“I’m definitely very disappointed. I was one point from winning a match. It’s a Grand Slam, so of course every match is very important,” Chwalinska later told reporters.
“But I’ll get through it. It’s tennis, it’s sport, so I will lose many more like this, and I will hopefully win some like that.”
Chwalinska would have been forgiven for throwing in the towel during the third set of her match, but she continued fighting until the last point. A testament to how important Grand Slams are to players.
“It’s Wimbledon. I don’t want to retire in Wimbledon. I knew that later on I would get cramps everywhere, so I knew that I wasn’t going to take a huge risk with my health; it’s gonna be okay,” she explained.
“I would have many regrets if I were to retire, so I just wanted to continue.”
Chwalinska’s emotions are the polar opposite of the ones she felt a few weeks ago at the French Open, where she produced a stunning run to reach the final as a qualifier. That performance earned her the right to be handed a wildcard into Wimbledon. At the time the entry list was finalised, she was ranked too low to gain direct entry into the main draw at SW19.
“I don’t have a huge experience playing on grass,” she replied when asked about the risks of playing on the surface.
“I know that it happens. So I just accept it.”
Chwalinska is currently ranked 21st in the world. Her Wimbledon opponent Sawangkaew will play Alycia Parks in the next round.
