Maja Chwalinska Earns Life-Changing Money as Surprise Roland-Garros Finalist

Poland’s Maja Chwalinska didn’t expect to be at Roland-Garros this long.

The No. 114-ranked women’s singles tennis player admitted earlier this week that she “actually struggled” to pay for her hotel because players don’t get paid until the tournament’s end. Oshee, the Polish sports drink brand, helped foot her hotel bill.

Chwalinska added two more nights to her stay by beating No. 25 Diana Shnaider, who upset world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka last round, in straight sets in their semifinal match on Thursday.

Now, she’ll play in her first-ever Grand Slam final against Russia’s Mirra Andreeva, seeded eighth, on Saturday with a chance to become the first qualifier to win the French Open title, per ESPN.

Regardless of the result, Chwalinska has already nearly doubled her career earnings just by making it this far.

“Before the French Open, Poland's Maja Chwalińska had just $864,030 in total career earnings,” Front Office Sports’ Yanyan Li wrote. “After making the tournament's final round, she's set to earn $1,624,000 worth of prize money in just two weeks.”

After defeating Shnaider, Chwalinska told the press, “Nothing changes for me. I’m just playing tennis. I mean, the stage changed, but honestly, I’m just playing tennis and practicing and, for me, it doesn’t change. I just want to win whatever match I’m playing. So, that’s it.”

She endearingly added, “I mean, let’s not pretend someone expected it. I was outside the top 100, and now I’m in the finals of a Grand Slam, so I feel like it’s a big thing. So, it’s hard to process it, I guess.”

If she can hoist the Suzanne Lenglen Cup on Saturday, Chwalinska will be tennis’ newest darling. And she will have earned it all.

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This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 9:13 PM.