Before the French Open, Poland’s Maja Chwalińska had just $864,030 in total career earnings. After making the tournament’s final round, she’s set to earn $1,624,000 worth of prize money in just two weeks.
Chwalińska, who was WTA’s No. 114-ranked player prior to the French Open, defeated No. 25 Diana Shnaider 7–6, 6–4 in the semifinals, advancing all the way from the qualifying rounds to play for the ultimate trophy. As the first qualifier to ever make a French Open final, she’s set to face No. 8-ranked Mirra Andreeva out of Russia.
If Chwalińska wins the final, she will become just the second qualifier to ever win a Grand Slam, following Emma Raducanu’s 2021 US Open victory. Meanwhile, Andreeva could become the first Russian woman since Maria Sharapova at the 2014 French Open. At age 19, Andreeva is also the first teenager since Coco Gauff in 2023 to make a Grand Slam final.
Following Chwalińska’s quarterfinal win against Anna Kalinskaya, the Pole told reporters that she “struggled to pay” for her hotel, as she didn’t expect to be in Paris for so long and wouldn’t get her prize money paycheck until after the tournament. However, she said Polish sports nutrition brand Oshee (which she signed with during the tournament) stepped in to cover her lodging costs.
Chwalińska’s pre-French Open ranking is also not high enough to earn one of Wimbledon’s main draw spots, which are reserved for the top 104-ranked players and got finalized in mid-May. She’ll only get to bypass qualifying rounds if she earns a wildcard. But if she does, she’ll be seeded—her finals berth guarantees that she’ll be ranked No. 21 or higher after leaving Paris.
Though Chwalińska, 24, has been in Grand Slam qualifiers since 2020, she’s never made it past the second round of a slam, and never played in the main draw of the French Open prior to this year. She stepped away from the WTA tour for 18 months from 2021 to 2022 due to a struggle with depression.
This year marks the second consecutive French Open with a Cinderella run in the women’s draw, as in 2025, France’s Lois Boisson made the semifinals with a pre-tournament ranking of No. 361. Ironically, Boisson beat 2026 finalist Andreeva in the quarterfinals that year.
It’s far from Poland’s first rodeo with the French Open–No. 4 Iga Świątek once dominated the tournament, winning four titles and three consecutive from 2022 to 2024. Świątek was eliminated in the fourth round this year, joining No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 2 Elena Rybakina, and No. 3 Coco Gauff as the top women’s players to get booted early.
Chwalińska will take on Andreeva in the French Open finals on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET, which will be broadcast in the U.S. on TNT.
