PARIS (AP) — For Maja Chwalińska, the fairy tale run that began three weeks ago in Paris ended in a nightmare.
Her French Open final against Mirra Andreeva promised a fascinating clash of styles on the red clay on Saturday. Instead, it turned into a rout, set in motion by a double fault.
That opening was a bad omen for the Polish qualifier. It was followed by a collapse in which she won only five games before Andreeva sealed her first Grand Slam title by 6-3, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Chwalińska sat dejectedly in her chair for a long time before finding her sense of humor again during the trophy presentation.
“She is so young and talented, it's so annoying,” she said about Andreeva, summing up a one-sided final.
The 24-year-old Chwalińska became the first qualifier in the tournament's history to reach the final after arriving in Paris as the world No. 114. But the last hurdle proved too high.
Her eclectic brand of tennis captivated crowds; clever drop shots, slices, moon balls and endless variations of tempo. But her style was blunted and her supporters silenced by Andreeva. She was also largely undone by her own errors as she struggled to find her range in windy conditions.
“I felt like I have no weapon against her today. She definitely handled the wind much better than me, and she played so smart," she said.
Chwalińska double-faulted the first point of the match and immediately dropped her serve. Andreeva, who was also playing in her first major final, was nervous, too, and allowed the qualifier to stay within touch early on.
Chwalińska was the first one to hold her serve for 3-2. But once Andreeva got into the groove, her sheer power was unstoppable. She won nine consecutive games for 6-3, 5-0 and prevented Chwalińska from matching Emma Raducanu’s title run at the 2021 U.S. Open.
“I’ve tried my best, I’m sorry,” Chwalińska told the crowd.
Andreeva said she was nervous at the start because she had never played against Chwalińska. She said coping with the tricky weather conditions was key.
“I couldn’t understand at some point which way the wind was going,” she said. “I’m just happy that I’ve dealt with these conditions and adjusted to the conditions maybe a little bit faster than she did.”
The disappointment did not erase everything Chwalińska accomplished in Paris. She came through three qualifying rounds to reach the main draw and went all the way to the final in only her third Grand Slam tournament. Her best previous result at a major was the second round at 2022 Wimbledon. She took a break from tennis a few years ago while dealing with depression.
“I’ll never forget these three weeks, for sure,” she said. The experience will do wonders for her confidence against the big names she will meet more of. “Because I’ve never really played against the high-ranked players before. It was the very first time that I faced them.”
Her ranking will soar and her bank balance has received a significant boost as well. Chwalińksa is set to rise to a ranking of 21. Her career prize money heading into Roland Garros was $864,030. She's tripled that by reaching the final and earning 1.4 million euros ($1.6 million).
Chwalińksa will now turn her focus to grass courts. If she does not receive a wild card, she would need to go through qualifying at Wimbledon.
“Last year it was a struggle for me on grass, but before I loved playing on grass. I feel like I can use a lot of touch and slices,” she said. “I move pretty well on the court and I anticipate pretty well. I’m ready for the challenge.”
And before Wimbledon, there are also some simple pleasures ahead after the high amount of stress of her Parisian campaign.
“I couldn’t eat for the last three weeks," she said. "Like, my coaches were eating pizza, and I was, like, ‘No.’ So, yeah, I’m just actually excited to kind of finish the tournament, and maybe the joy of eating will come back."
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press
