World No. 114 tennis player reaches the Roland Garros 2026 final

A truly extraordinary journey for a player that almost no one had heard of prior to the start of this year's Roland Garros.

One year after the sensation Lois Boisson, Roland Garros continues to witness another fairy tale as world No. 114 Maja Chwalinska impressively secured her place in the women's singles final after a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Diana Shnaider on Philippe Chatrier court on the evening of June 4 (Vietnam time).

Previously, Shnaider had made a huge splash by eliminating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, and the Russian player also had far more Tour experience than Chwalinska. However, with a relaxed mindset and nothing to lose, the Polish "little squirrel" kept everyone's attention on her.

Lacking the heavy shots of her opponent across the net, Chwalinska instead deployed a highly effective counterpunching style, defending solidly from the baseline and rarely missing on passing shots. Her lobs and moonballs truly troubled Shnaider.

Having to bandage her thigh area extensively and requiring medical assistance during the second set, her remarkable competitive spirit helped Chwalinska overcome difficulties and surprise Shnaider with a straight-sets victory.

This victory makes Chwalinska the first qualifier in history to reach the Roland Garros final, and only the second to do so in Grand Slam tournaments after Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open. At that tournament, Raducanu defeated Leylah Fernandez to claim the championship title.

Few could have imagined that the 24-year-old, currently ranked only 114th in the world, would create such a memorable journey in Paris. Before Roland Garros began, Maja Chwalinska was virtually unknown. Her credentials coming into the year's second Grand Slam included three WTA 125 titles, seven ITF titles, and fairly solid form at lower-level events.

There, the player of the same age and nationality as Iga Swiatek has repeatedly caused surprises. After three qualifying wins, Chwalinska maintained her impressive form in the main draw, extending her winning streak to nine matches, defeating opponents such as Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari, Elise Mertens, beauty Anna Kalinskaya, and most recently Diana Shnaider.

Reaching the Roland Garros final also gives the 24-year-old a remarkable leap in the WTA rankings updated early next week. According to calculations, Chwalinska will jump from No. 114 straight to world No. 21, and she could even break into the top 15 if she stands on the highest podium in Paris this year.

The final obstacle on Maja Chwalinska's dream run at Roland Garros 2026 is Russia's eighth seed Mirra Andreeva, who excellently defeated Ukrainian opponent Marta Kostyuk in straight sets.