Maja Chwalinska created an earthquake at Roland Garros when she advanced straight to the final as the player who passed the qualifiers. However, the phenomenon of the tournament once worried that she could not find a hotel room in Paris to stay.
Chwalinska admitted that she may not have enough cash to book a hotel room at the last minute after advancing too deep into the French Open, because she had never planned to go so far in the tournament.
This year's Roland Garros is dramatic with both Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic being eliminated early in the men's event, while Carlos Alcaraz withdrew. In the women's singles event, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are also the same.
With Chwalinska - a player who started her journey from the qualifying round, she stayed in Paris much longer than expected.
Chwalinska defeated Anna Kalinskaya to win a spot in the semi-finals, then Diana Shnaider - who defeated Sabalenka, although she had never passed the second round at any Grand Slam before.
Having struggled from the qualifying round, Chwalinska played 9 matches at this year's tournament. She also accumulated more prize money at Roland Garros 2026 than the total amount earned throughout her career.
Before the tournament, she only had 643,964 pounds, and now she is guaranteed to receive an additional 1.2 million pounds when she reaches the final. If she wins the championship, she will receive 2.4 million pounds.
However, that amount of money will not return to her account immediately, causing her to struggle to find an affordable hotel room in the capital of France.
I hope there are still empty rooms out there... or I have enough money, you know? Because I know I have earned quite a bit here, but the money doesn't come back immediately. Let's wait and see what happens, pray for me," Chwalinska shared.
Even after reaching the top 16 strongest players, Chwalinska still finds it hard to believe the stature of what she has achieved.
I am really surprised by everything that is happening. If someone told me before the tournament that I would reach the round of 16, maybe I wouldn't believe it," she said. "I have never been in a situation like this, and that's why it's hard to say that I expected this. All I try to do is focus on each match because I know opponents will all be very difficult to play against.
Chwalinska underwent surgery in 2022 and has struggled to return to her best form ever since. Ranked 114th in the world before the French Open took place, she would jump to 30th when the rankings were updated.
Besides the recovery process after surgery, Chwalinska also had a period of temporary suspension from competition due to mental health reasons, after feeling it was difficult to face the pressure of professional tennis.
Chwalinska meets Mira Andreeva at the Roland Garros 2026 women's singles final at 8:00 p.m. on June 6.
