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Plenty of tennis stories sound unlikely, but this one could take the cake in an already crazy 2026 WTA season. A few months after her run to the Roland Garros final as a qualifier, Maja Chwalińska went to the final WTA 1000 of the season, made her Wuhan debut, and left with the trophy. She beat Sonay Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 for her first career WTA Tour title.
The context here is important. She had never gone past the first round at WTA 1000 level before this fortnight, and she arrived in Wuhan never having passed the Round of 16 in a tournament of this category. That’s on top of not delivering in much of the season post-Roland Garros. Instead, she won six matches in a row, beating three seeded opponents in a row along the way, and capped it with a title.
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What’s really impressive is that as the draw got tougher, so did her opponents:
- Round 1: def. Mayar Sherif 6-3, 6-2
- Round 2: def. Marie Bouzková 1-6, 6-1, 6-1
- Round 3: def. (10) Iva Jovic 6-4, 6-1
- Quarterfinal: def. Maria Sakkari 6-0, 3-6, 7-5
- Semifinal: A headline match, against (7) Iga Świątek.
This was the first all-Polish semifinal in WTA Tour history. The match was tight early. Chwalińska broke first, but Świątek moved to 5-3 in the opener. Chwalińska then saved two set points in the ninth game, after which Świątek took a medical timeout for a leg injury. Świątek looked hampered afterward; Chwalińska drew level at 5-5 and closed out the set before dominating the second to take it all 7-5, 6-1. It was Chwalińska’s first top-10 win, and it leveled the childhood friends’ head-to-head at 1-1. Their only earlier meeting was an ITF event in Stockholm in 2016.
Kartal also had quite an inspiring run, downing Belinda Bencic, Elina Svitolina and Jeļena Ostapenko en route to the championship. The Brit, who had missed six months this year with a back injury, was the lowest-ranked WTA 1000 finalist since the format began in 2009.
This result puts Chwalińska in the history books:
- She is the fourth player, after Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu and Victoria Mboko, to win a WTA 1000 as her first tour-level singles title.
- She is the third Polish player to win a WTA 1000, after Agnieszka Radwańska and Iga Świątek.
- She is only the second player to reach her first two career WTA-level finals at a Grand Slam and a WTA 1000 event, after Amélie Mauresmo.
- She rises to No. 11 in the world, a career high and the 1,000 points offer a buffer once Roland Garros comes around next year.
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Now, lets talk the WTA Finals!
First, in singles there are now seven qualifiers: Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, Mirra Andreeva, Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Linda Nosková and now Elina Svitolina.
The last spot is the live question. Karolína Muchová leads on 4,735 points, ahead of Świątek on 4,189 and Marta Kostyuk on 3,920. The twist is that Muchová is not in Ningbo and is not registered for Tokyo, so she cannot add points. Her place now depends on whether either chaser can pass her.
If Muchová doesn’t play Tokyo, Świątek needs to win one of Ningbo and Tokyo and reach at least the quarterfinals of the other, or reach both finals. Kostyuk would essentially need to win both titles. Świątek’s route is also complicated by her leg trouble in Wuhan. Her physical condition raises doubts about Ningbo, and skipping a WTA 500 would sharply cut her chances. That would be a striking absence. Świątek has qualified for the past six years and won the title in 2023. Muchová is a heavy favorite, but not mathematically safe.
For doubles, three more teams have sealed their berths, joining the two that are already in:
- Kateřina Siniaková / Taylor Townsend
- Gabriela Dabrowski / Luisa Stefani
- Kristina Mladenovic / Guo Hanyu
- Cristina Bucșa / Nicole Melichar-Martinez
- Elise Mertens / Zhang Shuai
There is also a casualty. Aleksandra Krunić and Anna Danilina, third on the leaderboard, withdrew after a knee injury.
These next couple weeks are going to get very interesting. But until then, on to links!
This week in women’s tennis
Gabriela Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani are heating up, winning their third consecutive doubles title after taking Wuhan over Storm Hunter and Kateřina Siniaková.
Ashleigh Barty and Svetlana Kuznetsova are two players eligible for enshrinement into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2027. Serena Williams could have been among the players had she not come back to the sport earlier this year.
Angelique Kerber captured the Luxembourg Ladies Tennis Masters for the second consecutive year and I would love to see a senior WTA circuit of the past champions for nostalgia’s sake.
I love college tennis as a pathway for future professional players and the international melting pot it is should stay as is, even though some want to cap non-Americans on rosters.
Happy 70th birthday to WTA Legend Martina Navratilova!
Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula have risen up the WTA rankings together and now have qualified for five consecutive WTA Finals, forming quite the dynamic duo.
Last year, Mirra Andreeva could have played Tokyo to help secure her WTA Finals berth. Instead, she watched Elena Rybakina storm past her and eventually win it all. This year, she’s qualified and ready for her debut.
It’s a little similar to Elina Svitolina, who was among the final qualifiers in 2018 before rallying in numerous three setters before winning the title. Now, she’s back at the tour’s crown jewel for a fourth time and first as a mom.
Iva Jovic is embracing the culture the second time around she’s taking on the Asian Swing.
Tweet of the Week
In unfortunate news, Elina Svitolina has shared she and husband Gael Monfils are separating but I applaud her for being so forthright with her fans:
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