No matter whether Maja Chwalinska defeated Diana Shnaider in the semifinals of the 2026 French Open or not, the Polish player was already a winner at the event. Ranked No. 114 on the WTA tour before the start of Roland Garros, she battled through qualifying to become the Cinderella story of the tournament.
Stunningly, she had only lost one set in the tournament before reaching the semis, but Shnaider was also playing at an exceedingly high level, having beaten top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals to be able to play Chwalinska.
What was clear from the beginning of the semifinal match, though, was that it was going to be brutally physically taxing on both players. Seemingly, every rally went well beyond the norm, and while Shnaider tried to power through her opponent at times, Chwalinska was a wall of defense, and then hit returns that somehow just found the court.
Maja Chwalinska keeps doing what no one thought was possible at the 2026 French Open
It was magical tennis by both players, and anything but the quick match that tennis fans have gotten a bit used to. The first set alone lasted an hour and 15 minutes, partly due to how tight the set was. A tie-break always seemed likely, and once the set did get there, even then, the rallies were extended.
Chwalinska managed to find a bit better form at the end, and took the tie-break, and, therefore, the first set 7-6(4). Still, she was nowhere near being in total control of the match itself. Neither player let the other have a lead for very long.
At the beginning of the second set, Chwalinska got a break, and maybe the narrative of the match would be owned by the Pole, but Shnaider broke right back. Each then held serve with Shnaider trying to end points more quickly, but Chwalinska not allowing that to happen much.
If the match went to a third set, conditioning for each was probably going to come into play. Instead of her having the best form, the match might be determined by who runs out of gas first. Chwalinska was the one in a position to make sure a third set didn't occur, of course, and she kept playing highly efficient tennis, though one that lacked much power.
Without being overpowering, she had to try to keep pushing each point deeper, hoping that Shnaider might become desperate and make a mistake. At 4-all in the second set, she was able to do just that and get the break. She then consolidated the break by holding, and won the set 6-4. Her Cinderella story is still very much in play.
Chwalinska is only the second qualifier in WTA history to reach a Grand Slam final. She is the first at Roland Garros.
Maja Chwalinska will next face Mirra Andreeva in the 2026 French Open final. Andreeva has more power than Diana Shnaider, so the Pole will hope to extend points once again. With her victory over Shnaider, she has moved up to No. 21 in the WTA live rankings.
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