Maja ChwalinskaFrench Open“I mean, I feel like tennis is such a tough sport. It’s so individual. We start so early”, said Chwalinska in her press conference on Saturday. “We are basically kids when we start. Uh, and we are teenagers, and you know, people are expecting that we are going to behave like adults already, and we’re just kids really.”

One will know that there is truth in what the Pole speaks about by looking no further than the victor today,

Mirra Andreeva. The Russian is a Grand Slam champion at 19 but has been on the WTA Tour since 2022, when she debuted at 15, and has had to deal with the pressure of being heralded as a teen prodigy. The Russian made a breakthrough run at Wimbledon back in 2023 and had already reached the semifinals at Roland Garros two years earlier as a 17-year-old.

Tennis, especially women’s tennis, has a long history of hyping teenage players and putting them on a pedestal, subjecting them to pressure from an early age. Coco Gauff was dubbed the next big thing when she reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals at 15 in 2019, and then became a Grand Slam champion at 19. Back in the 1990s, it was the likes of Martina Hingis and Serena Williams who had to bear the brunt of the glaring spotlight as they became teenage Grand Slam champions. That is what Chwalinska has tried to point out in the press conference: the young players often have to carry the burden of expectations because of their achievements, not because they are adults, and in an individual sport like tennis, that takes its toll.

After showing great mental resilience herself over three weeks, Chwalinska is now ready to move past her clay-court heroics and has talked about her grass-court plans for the upcoming weeks.

Maja Chwalinska Talks About Her Plans on Grass

After ending the clay court season with a 19-6 win-loss record, which saw her create history at Roland Garros, Chwalinska said that she was ready for the grass-court season. She said the Roland Garros result was “in the past now” in her press conference and expressed confidence that her style of play would be effective on the faster grass-court surface as well.

“Well, last year’s it it’s been a struggle for me on grass, honestly. Um, but before I loved playing on grass. Um uh, I feel like I can use a lot of touch and slices”, said Chwalinska while talking about her chances on grass. “I move pretty well on the court and anticipate well.”

The Pole might feel optimistic about her grass-court game, given that she has just played a Grand Slam final. Still, her record on the surface is not particularly inspiring: she has won only 7 matches on it, six of which came in 2023, when she qualified for the main draw at Wimbledon. She beat the likes of Aliona Bolsova, Alexandra Cadantu, and Coco Vandeweghe to reach the qualifying stage, then beat Katerina Siniakova in the first round before losing to Alison Riske in the second.

Chwalinska’s defensive shots, like the slice and lob, will have a say on grass as well, but if the Pole has to make a run at Wimbledon, she needs to develop a powerful serve, which will give her freedom to score some easy points. However, it remains to be seen if the Pole will receive a wildcard at Wimbledon this year. The entry list cutoff precluded Chwalinska’s run at the French Open, and therefore, the Pole might still have to come through qualifying despite being 21st on the WTA rankings. Between accommodating their home players and keeping one wildcard ready, or should Serena Williams make herself available for singles at Wimbledon, the Slam will be in a spot of bother with wildcards.

Chwalinska, however, is taking her Wimbledon prospects seriously, as she already said in the press conference that she will not play any warm-up event on grass before Wimbledon, which is understandable given the Pole has earned a rest after her Paris run. However, this will give her time for a training block and the opportunity to shock the world once more, and given where her confidence is, who’s to say she won’t do so again?