Maja Chwalinska has described her run to the Roland Garros final as ‘unforgettable’ as she fell short against Mirra Andreeva.
The Pole ran out of gas as she lost in straight sets to the eighth seed in Saturday’s final.
However, Chwalinska has lots to be proud of as she became the first qualifier to reach a Roland Garros final in the Open Era.
Reflecting on her journey Chwalinska described it as ‘unforgettable’ and is determined to work even harder in the future, “Yeah, definitely unforgettable three weeks for me,” Chwalinska said in her press conference.
“Yeah, such a great time. I’ll never forget these three weeks, for sure. Definitely very challenging one today. Mirra was much better player today, and she deserved to win. But definitely I’m proud of my effort. I obviously gave my all.
“Yeah, I think I can be proud of myself. I mean, honestly, I didn’t feel like I’m playing my best tennis, which is kind of weird. I mean, I feel like I gained a lot of confidence, because I’ve never really played against the high-ranked players before. It was the very first time that I face them. Definitely gained a lot of confidence.
“I mean, I will keep on working hard, as I am now. Yeah, I mean, I will give my all to continue, you know, and to be a better player really.”
The run for Chwalinska has come out of nowhere but she has come through qualifying and played ten matches in Paris.
It came as a surprise to Chwalinska and believes her run could inspire others to do similar things in the past, “I mean, it’s such a huge jump all of a sudden, but really it’s been, I mean, 18 years of hard work and patience and, you know, perseverance,” Chwalinska stated.
“I had to go through so much to be in this place, in this position. So, you know, life’s weird sometimes, and you just gotta kind of do your thing and believe that it will click someday, and I’m happy that it did.
“Well, I think so. I know many, many great players that are ranked outside top 100. You know, it’s such a thin line now. I feel like a lot of things need to click. But yeah, for sure there are so many great players. Yeah, I wish them all the best. I hope that my story these last days were inspiring for them. Yeah, I’ll see them in the, let’s say, top 50 now.”
After overcoming depression and mental health problems, Chwalinska is now a Grand Slam finalist and has inspired other people.
Tennis is a tough sport and Chwalinska has analyzed why tennis is such a mentally difficult sport, “But I mean, I feel like tennis is such a tough sport. It’s so individual. We start so early,” Chwalinska explained.
“We are basically kids when we start, and we are teenagers. People are expecting that we are going to behave like adults already, and we are just kids really. So the pressure is huge, because every match we are kind of exposed. People can judge us, like, whatever they want, you know. In this day and age it’s, like, you can write anything on the internet.
“Yeah, I feel like it’s very challenging, and you just gotta protect yourself as well as you can.”
Next up for Chwalinska is the grass court season where an interesting debate has popped up as to whether she will receive a main draw wildcard.
When the entry list came out Chwalinska was 114 in the world but will now rise to 21 in the world rankings.
The Pole isn’t expecting a main draw wildcard and will be taking a well earned vacation before Wimbledon, “Well, I mean, that would be news of a century, you know. Honestly, yeah, I don’t expect it, but yeah, I mean, I’ll see. I will treat it as a challenge. It’s a new surface,” Chwalinska admitted.
“I don’t have much time, but yeah, I’ll give my all, you know, and we’ll see. But I’m excited. Grass is always a nice kind of change. Well, last years it’s been a struggle for me on grass, honestly, but before I loved playing on grass. I feel like I can use a lot of touch and slices. I move pretty well on the court, and I anticipate pretty well. Yeah, I mean, it’s always exciting because it’s such a short period of time, you know, that we have on grass. Yeah, I guess I’ll see, but I’m ready for the challenge.
“Yeah, I’m not going to play anything before grass, that’s — before Wimbledon, that’s for sure. I definitely need some time to recharge. Even before Roland Garros, I said that I need vacation after the tournament. So now it’s, like, three weeks that I’m kind of, like, not waiting, because I wanted to be here, but I just knew back in my head that I’m going for the vacation after French Open.
“Definitely need some time to recharge, and I’m going to play only Wimbledon this year.”
