French Open runner-up might be denied Wimbledon spot in cruel twist | Tennis | Sport

Maja Chwalinska could miss out on playing at Wimbledon despite finishing as the runner-up at the French Open. The unseeded Pole lost to world No.8 Mirra Andreeva in the final at Roland Garros on Saturday afternoon. The Russian teenager won eight games in a row as she crushed Chwalinska 6-3, 6-2 on Court Philippe Chatrier. Andreeva needed only an hour and 22 minutes to secure her first Grand Slam title at the age of 19.

But Chwalinska nonetheless enjoyed a life-changing fortnight in the French capital, becoming the first qualifier – male or female – to reach the final of the tournament. She is only the second qualifier in history to reach a Grand Slam final, after Emma Raducanu at the US Open in 2021. The world No.113 will jump up nearly 100 places in the WTA rankings after beating Qinwen Zheng, 23rd seed Elise Mertens, Maria Sakkari, Diane Parry, 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya and 25th seed Diana Shnaider to make it into the championship match. Yet she is still not guaranteed a spot at Wimbledon later this month.

The 24-year-old will not receive direct entry to SW19 despite being top 30 in the current rankings. That’s because Wimbledon use a cut-off date for ranking points which is six weeks before the Grand Slam starts.

Players have to be ranked in the world’s top 104 before the cut-off, which Chwalinska was not. As it stands, the Miechow native is 14th on the alternative list. That means she’ll need a wildcard, or 14 members of the main draw to withdraw, to receive direct entry. Otherwise, she will need to navigate qualifying, as she did for Roland Garros.

There was a similar scenario 12 months ago when surprise French Open semi-finalist Lois Boisson was not granted a wildcard. The French player lost in the first round of qualifying to miss out on the main draw. Chwalinska, likewise, lost in round one of qualifying in 2021, 2023 and 2025 and will be desperate to avoid the same fate this year.

She’s only appeared once at the grass-court Slam, in 2022, and appears unlikely to receive a wildcard from the Wimbledon organisers who naturally prioritise British players. There is the added issue that Serena and Venus Williams could both compete in the singles at the All England Club this year.

The Williams sisters have a combined 12 singles titles and so are near certain to receive wildcards, which would further decrease the likelihood of Chwalisnka getting one herself. Last year, seven of the eight wildcards went to Brits with two-time champion Petra Kvitova the other recipient in her final Wimbledon appearance before retirement.

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Discussing the matter on his Served podcast, ex-world No.1 Andy Roddick said: “That conversation for Wimbledon is a tough one. Serena decides to play, that is a wildcard gone. How many are you willing to give?

“They gave one to [Petra] Kvitova as a past champion last year. There is some star power that there is going to be a fight for wildcards. I can see them not doing it. If she wins the tournament it’s a different story, but I don’t know!

“Didn’t we see it last year, [Lois] Boisson did not get a wildcard. She made the semis. When Chwalinska put her wildcard request in it was before today, they said that she already put it in, Boisson didn’t get it last year with her run to the semis. If you are 25 in the world are you deserving?

“Yes, but she is not getting screwed out of a position if they don’t give it to her. That’s just not the way it works. And they would be taking a wildcard away from a British player potentially or taking a wildcard away from the ability to trade one.

“So if there is a British prospect, [Jack] Draper is not directly entered into the US Open right now. I know the genders don’t align but I’m using it as an example, if there is a Draper-like person they want to get into the US Open, they would reach out to the USTA and trade a wildcard and they’re in.

“She should get one for sure, it would be a great story. I hope she gets it. And she isn’t getting one over Serena if Serena decides to play. Venus has won that tournament five times, folks. I’m just saying, there is going to be a lot of attention for those wildcards.”