Maja Chwalinska was, as the popular meme goes, suffering from success. The 24-year-old Pole reached the French Open final a while ago with her shock win over Diana Shnaider, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4. The world no. 114 is the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Emma Raducanu in 2021. But did you know that she was struggling to pay her hotel bills, and for the most bizarre reason?

Reaching the semifinal of a Grand Slam as a qualifier is not something many tennis players have done. Maja Chwalinska is now navigating the road less traveled, after having her fairytale run at the 2026 French Open. Since the Open Era began, only six women’s tennis players have reached the semifinals of a Major, starting from qualifying rounds, and only two, including Maja, have advanced to the finals, which underscores the difficulty of what the Pole has accomplished. However, as she confessed in her round four victory press conference, finding suitable accommodations was a more immediate issue that she was facing.

“I mentioned in the interview after the match against Maria [Sakkari] that I actually struggled to pay for the hotel, because you know that we get the cheque after the tournament”, Chwalinska admitted with a smile after her fourth-round win. Players are wired their winnings after the event ends, and, understandably, the Pole had not planned for hotel bookings this far ahead when she played her first qualifying match against Alice Rame on May 18.

The Pole will have a guaranteed payout of around $1.6M after her French Open heroics so far. If she lifts the trophy on Saturday, the payout will be a massive $3.25M.

For now, the Pole clarified that a nutrition company from her country, Oshee, has come forward and is footing the necessary bills. “It was a funny thing. And then the Polish company ‘Oshee,’ they actually will help you with that, which is actually great, and I’m very grateful for that. I thought that I said something stupid, but it developed as kind of a fun thing,” added Chwalinska.

The French Open has been the Slam where unheralded names have made deep runs in recent years. Back in 2020, Argentine qualifier Nadia Podoroska reached the semifinals, followed by similar runs by unseeded players Tamara Zidansek (2021) and Martina Trevisan (2022). Barbora Krejcikova won the event in 2021, unseeded. And who can forget the fairytale run of French wildcard Lois Boisson last year, who reached the last four?

It remains to be seen if Chwalinska can get past Mirra Andreeva and add to the history of the underdogs at Roland Garros this year.

Maja Chwalinska Becomes the Second Qualifier To Reach a Major Final at the 2026 French Open

Coming into the French Open, Chwalinska was in serious form as she won a clay-court Challenger event in Oeiras in April. She used that form to get past in the early rounds of qualifying, winning with dominant scores against the likes of Alice Rame and Carole Monet. In the final qualifying round, she edged past Suzan Lamens in two close sets, making her debut in the French Open main draw.

Chwalinska had a tough first-round opponent in Top-10 player and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, but the Pole routed the returning Chinese player 6-4, 6-0. A similar scoreline followed for the qualifier against the veteran Elise Mertens in the second round. In the third round, she faced another Top-10 player and former Roland Garros semifinalist, Maria Sakkari, and won the match after losing the first set 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Chwalinska had to face the home crowd in the fourth round as well, as she went up against Diane Parry, who was one of the last French representatives left in the draw. The Pole remained undeterred, closing out a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Playing in her first Major quarterfinal against Anna Kalinskaya, the World No.114 raced to a 5-1 lead. However, the Russian came back in the set, saving off two set points in the process and taking the set to a tiebreak. Chwalinska remained unflustered, winning the tiebreak and then securing a clinical 6-3 set to keep her dream run in Paris alive.

The Pole faced Diana Shnaider in the last four, who won against top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinal. In a stage where it would have been understandable if she had a bout of nerves, Chwalinska had ice in her veins. She used her counterpunching style, absorbing every powerful shot Shnaider hit and confusing the Russian player with her slices and lobs. She remained clinical throughout, wrapping up a 7-6 (4), 6-4 victory to become only the second player, after Emma Raducanu, to reach a Grand Slam final from qualifying.