LONDON — An ill-timed injury and a valiant opponent led to the first major upset of Wimbledon 2026 as qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew saved one match point to defeat No. 20 seed Maja Chwalinska 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Roland Garros finalist Chwalinska, playing her first grass-court match of the season, was a point away from victory at 6-2, 5-2 — but slipped on the grass behind the baseline, allowing Sawangkaew to put away a volley winner. The injury didn’t initially seem serious, but Chwalinska required a medical timeout and treatment on her right leg after losing that game.
The next two games were also deuce nailbiters, but Sawangkaew managed to avoid facing another match point as she pegged Chwalinska back to 5-5. From that point on, Chwalinska’s movement deteriorated rapidly as Sawangkaew wrapped up the second set.
Though Chwalinska went up an early 2-0 break in the decider, the last six games of the match were one-way traffic for Sawangkaew. By the end, Chwalinska was barely able to push off on her right leg on either serve or return.
No. 164-ranked Sawangkaew, who saved three match points in her final qualifying round to defeat Oceane Dodin 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, scored her first Grand Slam main-draw win and her first victory over a Top 30 opponent. The Thai made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open in January after being sidelined for six months last year due to a back injury she sustained at Roland Garros.
Sawangkaew is the first Thai player to win a match at Wimbledon since Luksika Kumkhum reached the second round in 2018. The 23-year-old fron Sing Buri is one of two Thai women in this year’s main draw, a joint Open Era record. Should Lanlana Tararudee win her opener against Lilli Tagger to join Sawangkaew, it will mark the first time that two Thai women have reached the second round of any Grand Slam.
More to come…