Chwalinska\u2019s career earnings prior to the French Open came to less than $900,000.<\/p>\n
The setup of London\u2019s 139th grass court classic, which begins Monday at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in recent days has been framed by the return of Serena Williams. Now 44 years old, Williams is back after retiring in 2022 as the women\u2019s all-time money earner at approximately $95 million. <\/p>\n
It no doubt will be, yet again, a Wimbledon dominated by Serena speak<\/a>. The American power blaster last won in 2016, finished as the runner-up in 2018 and \u201919, and ruled over the sport like no other woman before or since. She has signed up for singles and will pair in doubles with sister Venus. <\/p>\n Be prepared. The Sisters Sledgehammah are back in business, and if Serena gets on a tear with her serve and baseline bashes, all the oxygen could get sucked out of the august emerald venue before the first ounces of Devon cream pour out over those strawberries.<\/p>\n Against that backdrop, Chwalinska could end up nothing but a curious footnote at the end of this fortnight, joining the scores of other women over some 20 years who failed to escape Serena\u2019s long, broad shadow. Granted, the challenge will be ever greater this time for Williams, because of age and her protracted time away from facing such elite competition, which will be against some who are the teenage ingenues she was in the late-\u201990s. Andreeva just turned 19 in April.<\/p>\n John McEnroe worked TSN\u2019s broadcast of the French Open, offering his usual incisive commentary. No one reads momentum swings from the broadcast booth as deftly as McEnroe. He also ended up Chwalinska\u2019s unintended straight man, asking her on air if she even knew who he was during an interview after her loss in the final.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you kidding me?\u201d offered the smiling, 5-foot-5-inch Chwalinska. \u201cWhen I was younger I watched a lot of tennis. Like \u2026 the vintage tennis<\/a>.\u201d <\/p>\n McEnroe\u2019s TSN cohorts relished the old man (67) getting so sincerely, subtly aced, particularly with no umpire seated to feel his vintage wrath.<\/p>\n Williams and a few others aside, the young tend to age quickly in big-time tennis. Case in point: Chwalinska, her career path interrupted significantly in 2022 by a knee injury and subsequent surgery. Her best pal in Poland from junior days, Iga Swiatek, by then already was on to fame and fortune, while Chwalinska had yet to find a foothold anywhere in the elite pecking order.<\/p>\n Upon losing out to Andreeva, Chwalinska in her on-court comments offered congrats and noted, \u201cYou\u2019re such an incredible player. You\u2019re so young and talented. It\u2019s so annoying.\u201d<\/p>\n Well before her knee injury, it was a first-round loss at Wimbledon in 2019<\/a> as a 17-year-old qualifier that led Chwalinska to exit the game for a couple of years. It\u2019s not that unusual in the sport of rapid aging. <\/p>\n Tennis, she said, made her think of pressure, stress, and crying, leading to the depressive state that forced her to the sidelines.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t get out of bed anymore,\u201d recalled Chwalinska, as quoted in the Independent during the French Open. \u201cI was just lifeless, to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n Her spirit and legs renewed, Chwalinska has ostensibly fashioned \u201cannoying\u201d as her brand. An unyielding dynamo, be it on forehand or backhand, her energy and shot-return acumen make it extremely difficult for opponents to close out points.<\/p>\n Playing in a major final for the first time, Chwalinska looked tense at Roland Garros, not quite on the level she displayed en route there. We\u2019ll see if finally getting there helps her at Wimbledon.<\/p>\n It took the rescue aid of Oshee, a Polish beverage maker for which Swiatek is the brand ambassador, for Chwalinska to keep her hotel room in Paris. She arrived sponsor-free, which led to her playing in the same yellow top and black skirt combo that looked off the rack at Ocean State Job Lot<\/a>.<\/p>\n Asked during a late news conference in Paris to clarify the story, she first said she had no story to tell.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sponsored,\u201d Chwalinska offered, with a slight smile. \u201cSo I guess that\u2019s the story.\u201d<\/p>\n A story now that is both old and just beginning.<\/p>\n![\"Serena](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/UZFCHPZRUJA4HONGM67HE66B3I.jpg\")
Serena Williams is back on the courts at the All England Lawn Tennis Club preparing for her Wimbledon singles and doubles return.GLYN KIRK\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"French](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SUJC6ECD5FH45NHNVRELCXX75M.jpg\")
French Open champion Mirra Andreeva (left) took her game to new heights at Roland Garros, as did Maja Chwalinska in reaching the final.Clive Brunskill\/Getty<\/p>\n![\"Maja](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/7WGKJCCLGVEWPPGDRKUEEEUUGE.jpg\")
Maja Chwalinska reached the French Open final by knocking off Diana Shnaider in the semis.JULIEN DE ROSA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n