Maja Chwalinska, the Polish tennis player and recent Roland Garros finalist, who made headlines as the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam final, only to narrowly lose to Mirra Andreeva while earning global praise, experienced a devastating setback in her opening match at Wimbledon. She was defeated by Mananchaya Sawangkaew with a score of 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 after a fall that resulted in an ankle sprain… at a moment when she was just one point away from victory.
Chwalinska was ranked 114th in the world at the time of entry (now 21st), which is why she received a wildcard for this grass-court Grand Slam. Everything seemed to be going well, with a 5-2 lead in the second set and a match point, when she slipped on the grass. She requested a medical timeout after this game, and although she had another match point later at 5-4, her mobility was clearly hampered by the twisted ankle.
During the final games of the third set, Chwalinska was not even attempting to run for shots to win the match, yet she still managed to finish it in tears. “I wanted to continue, but I didn’t feel comfortable moving, so I wanted to get my ankle taped. But, you know, I would have lost that point anyway, like it didn’t matter if I fell or not. It clearly didn’t help me afterwards, but that’s how it is,” the Polish player stated.
Sawangkaew, 23, ranked 164th, had spent six months sidelined with a back injury and became the first Thai player to win a Wimbledon match since Luksika Kumkhum reached the second round in 2018.