Petit Choux: Wow. WOW. WOOOW.

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Roland Garros 2026: Order of Play | Draws | Live Scores

• Previously on The Bagel: Oh, Aryna.

• It’s a small thing, and maybe it’s because I have a last name that people still for whatever reason find difficult to pronounce. But I having this thought when Li Na shifted the entire axis of global tennis by becoming the first Chinese Grand Slam champion at 2011 Roland Garros: How cool would it be to be so good at what you do that the world learns how to pronounce your name?
• And before you get all “BUT LI NA IS EASY TO SAY” yeah well, how many people do you think learned through Li Na that in China (and many other Asian countries) you say the surname first and the given name second? Li Na taught tennis that lesson. Did everyone learn it? Not necessarily. I would keep cringing for years when people would address her has “Li”, thinking that’s her first name.
• But whatever. Baby steps.
• The thought came up again when Iga Swiatek hit the scene. I, as a dumb American, had no idea how to pronounce her last name. It got so bad that I finally asked one of the WTA video people, who was off to interview Iga at the Australian Open before she was anything more than a hipster fave, to ask Iga how to pronounce her last name. I had interviewed her enough times that I was too embarrassed to now ask. That led to the video that pretty much put us all on notice.

• The thought came up again today – which just happened to be the 15th anniversary of Li Na’s triumph. There I was watching Maja Chwalinska – pronounced “Hvalinska” – coolly step to the line to serve out yet another improbable win to put herself into the Roland Garros final, with the the crowd on Chatrier chanting her name.

• To add to the improbability of EVERYTHING the Polish qualifier has done over the last three weeks, Chwalinska had the stadium urging her to close out A STRAIGHT SET WIN. So you know how crazy that is? This is a crowd that had just been given a 76-minute rout in the first semifinal. Based on the history of crowds and non-partisan matches, they usually root for three sets! Almost always!
• But not today.

Chwalinska makes history after stunning Shnaider to reach French Open final

The Pole became the first qualifier to play in a French Open final after defeating the No 25 seed 7-6 (4), 6-4 in the last four

The GuardianTumaini Carayol

Chwalinska was so unprepared for such a run herself that, as she moved through the rounds and her hotel bill racked up each night, she was unsure about whether she could afford to pay it until Oshee, the Polish drinks company, stepped in to help. No matter, she will be handsomely rewarded for her efforts after the tournament and her prize money of $1,626,744 (£1.2m) is nearly double the $864,030 she had previously earned in her career.

• Maybe Chwalinska had earned that support based on her narrative. Crowds love an underdog, yes, and she was THE MOST underdog. The true ball knowers would have known her history, one where she has openly discussed her struggle with depression. But I doubt that was the case.
• No, my sense was the crowd had been completely taken in by her tennis. Because my LORD, what a match she played. What a display of classical modern tennis she played. In an era that has evolved Big Babe Tennis™ – credit to soon-to-be Hall of Famer Mary Carillo – into BIGGER BABER TENNIS, Chwalinska was a throwback. The variety, the guile, and frankly, the intelligence to her shot-making was truly breathtaking. How could NOT want that tennis to succeed?

• Diana Shnaider, coming off her big win over Aryna Sabalenka, played a great match. She has just as much variety and grinding skill as Chwalinska, but she was just second-best today. She attacked when she could but Chawalinska was just always one-step ahead of her. It was a game of chess Chwalinska saw the whole board.

Tennis Updates (@tennisupdates.bsky.social)

Chwalinska was 36-19 in rallies over 9 shots That was the difference.

Bluesky SocialTennis Updates

• This was not a break-fest or a battle of nervy tennis where someone shit the bed. These two put on an outstanding tennis match, or as one Bluesky user called it: Ethical tennis.
• This wasn’t two players trying to take the racquet out of each other’s hands or overpower their opponent as to render them a spectator. This was two players showing up to a gun fight with nothing but knives and fists. That’s just a completely different dynamic and I know I’m not the only one who found it incredibly refreshing and compelling. It’s my favorite women’s match of the tournament.
• It had me basically doing this:

• Here’s Andy Roddick: "She’s made up for a lack of power with court positioning. She runs to spots, and she always leaves the court open for the hardest shot for the other person. So she’d get that one up above Shnaider’s shoulder and she almost leaves that forehand open and just shade towards teh backhand side and say listen, you might overpower me, but it’s going to be with the toughest shot. Her movement after she hits a shot to shade certain parts of the court and invite her opponents to take risks on an uncomfortable ball is elite."

Being ‘tennis freak’ paying off for first-time finalist Chwalinska

Tennis obsession is helping qualifier sets sights on biggest prize in first Slam final

Roland-GarrosRoland-Garros

• Shnaider could only tip her bandana:

“First of all, she moves incredible on the court. She covers a lot. She reads the game very well. Even if you think that you won the point, she's there. She's returning that ball, but not just, like, returning where you can attack, but she's returning it very uncomfortable for you, so you need to start the whole point literally from the beginning, building it up again.

"A lot of variety, a lot of spin. You know, with a lefty forehand, there is spin. And with the backhand, there is a lot of slices. There is a low ball coming, and then obviously the dropshots worked very well. She's coming into the net, covers it very well.

"So, yeah, I feel like her game style very suits the clay courts. Yeah, she played very well. Covers it, and then, like, she can kind of, even if you, like, attacking her, she can switch the point, and then all of a sudden, she's not defending but in attack."

• I liked this from Todd Spiker’s semifinal recap:

But what does stay true about women's tennis is that no matter how big the babes get, or how hard they hit the ball, there's always room for a small player with a versatile game, a creative mind, and the ability to remain calm in the face of the storm going on both around and inside her.

That has become the very definition of Chwalinska as a player at this Roland Garros.

At the moment, there is maybe no one quite like her, riding a wave of lovable, did-I-do-that? disbelief in a creative game style that until the past two weeks had never been quite enough to even allow her to crack the Top 100, nor post a Top 50 win, reach a tour-level semifinal or even win more than just one match (almost four year ago at SW19) in her two previous slam MD appearances. The last time a qualifier truly took a major by storm, Emma Raducanu had *at least* reached the second week of Wimbledon in her lone major before her qualifier-to-champion run in New York a few months later.

Chwalinska's is almost a blank slate, but one now filled up with a racket bag full of memories that no one – not just her – will ever truly forget.

• Chwalinska will rise to No.21 by making the final. SERIOUSLY WIMBLEDON, YOU BETTER GIVE HER A MAIN DRAW WILDCARD. I still doubt they will. Which just sucks. Gotta make sure all those Sub-150 Brits get their prize money checks.

• From a statistical level – and headline level, I guess – I understand why Emma Raducanu’s name keeps coming up. Chwalinska is the first qualifier to make a Grand Slam final since Raducanu came the first to run the table. She’s the first to do it in Paris as well. And her run, like Raducanu’s, has relied on solid play with a little help from her very nervous opponents, who blinked in the face of a major opportunity.
• But outside of the statistical and historical comp, the real comp for me is Marketa Vondrousova’s run to the Wimbledon title. Vondrousova was another underpowered by highly-intelligent creative player who absolutely left opponents flummoxed to the point they broke under the pressure.
• At her best, Vondrousova does not miss much, anticipates and covers the court fantastically, and controls the court in a judo-like manner. You think you’re the more offensive player, you think you have the firepower, you think you’re in control. Then why in the HELL are YOU the one being yanked from corner to corner?

• Another thing I’ve loved about watching Chwalinska’s matches has been her complete understanding of herself and her game. A pet peeve I have is when players constantly act out when they lose points. I’ll set Ostapenko aside on this because, yeah, if my game was entirely built on throwing haymakers on every third ball, I do need to make that third ball.
• But Penko aside, it’s annoying and kind of rude. You are not the only person on that court. And sometimes, you build a point and the other player just had the right answer. That’s fine! As Naomi Osaka reminded us, you don’t have to win every point! You only need to win a bit over 50%. Chill out.
• Hitters are more guilty of this than builders. When you have to build points, you recognize that it’s not always going to go your way. You’re used to it. But Chwalinska’s seemingly casual reaction when she gets straight up beat on a point is just so, dare I say, adult. Because she KNOWS what her game is and that these are the risks. Her game is to ask questions. If her opponent has the answer, fair play. As Jonathan on The Body Serve Podcast often says: you wheel and come again.
• Does she have another one in her? Who’s to say! It’s not all dependent on her. But if you’re noticing the pattern, the least likely thing to happen on any given day seems to keep happening at Roland Chaos 2026. Venus Williams has certainly recognized it:

• I forgot about this Chwalinska-Vandeweghe incident lol:

• As alluded to above, the first semifinal between Mirra Andreeva and Marta Kostyuk, seen by many as the de facto final, was a dud. Andreeva looked outstanding in a 6-1, 6-3 win, her first over Kostyuk. That’s a big-time performance from Andreeva, who was left weeping two years ago in a nervy showing in her first Slam semifinal against Coco Gauff. Then again, we’ve seen how quickly Andreeva learns, and Thursday was concrete proof.

Andreeva dismantles nervous Kostyuk amid tense backdrop of Russia-Ukraine war

Mirra Andreeva reached the French Open final with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Martya Kostyuk in the most high profile encounter between a Russian and Ukrainian player since war broke out

The GuardianTumaini Carayol

WTA Backspin by Todd Spiker: RG.12- Destiny’s Child

Destiny's Child

Andreeva's run to this point hadn't been entirely wiped clean of her past outbursts. She'd tossed some rackets at this major, and yelled at her player's box, and took a step back when a portion of the crowd got loudly behind the efforts of an oppenent. But the teen came into this SF as the highest seed (#8) remaining by a wide margin, as the only one with a previous slam SF (at RG, no less) and after having dropped just one set through the first five rounds.

Was it possible that *hers* was already the most experienced presence amongst a very small crowd on a very big stage? And would she respond accordingly? In a word, yes. Yes, she would.

• Get your mind around this one: If Andreeva wins Saturday’s final, she’ll lead the WTA’s Race rankings. She’s No.3 in the unofficial Live Race Rankings.

• If there’s dog gif leading your story, I will absolutely click. Super fun piece from Ava Wallace on all the dogs on tour now. There are…a lot. Some (me) might say, too many. Because I’m sorry, but they’re not all exactly well behaved! (The Athletic)

There were so many dogs at this edition of Roland Garros that the tournament installed doggie bag dispensers around the players’ lounge on site, and posted clear signage around areas where dogs are not allowed to enter. Ten canines were given their own credential badges to wear around the grounds, and while there are some areas that they are not supposed to be, such as dining areas, they get around.

Dogs have been seen on practice courts, listening attentively during news conferences, and even in players’ boxes on Court Philippe-Chatrier, somehow enduring the exquisite torture of seeing their owner hit a tennis ball that is not for them over and over again.

• More good stuff from Carole Bouchard, on Aryna Sabalenka and Felix Auger Aliassime’s crushing exits. (The Tennis Sweet Spot)

What happened to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals against Flavio Cobolli is a different shape of the same Sabalenka issue. We’re also in a case of “they want it so bad, it’s turning against them,” but here it’s with a layer of “they’ve wanted it so bad for so long without making it that the wound stays raw.”

• Pete Bodo on Jakub Mensik, who has been hiding in plain sight. (Tennis.com)

Fonseca has never been loquacious or apt to disclose his deeper thoughts in his friendly confabs with the press. But on the heels of this loss he seemed a little shaken, his analysis clear-eyed and his words honest and true. Fonseca had played well and lost, and he knew it.

“His [Mensik’s]  return, both first and second serve, are pretty into the court and he puts a lot of pressure on the opponent,” Fonseca said. “He missed a very small amount [number] of returns and that put me in a tough position. Today was not about me playing bad, It was [all] to his merit ... He knows how to play in important moments. He's not afraid. He has courage.”

• Steve Tignor was quick with it: Here’s his preview of Saturday’s women’s final. (Tennis.com)

First, will either player be especially nerve-ridden? It has been a big factor in Roland Garros finals before. Chwalinska, who can’t power her way past her nerves, might seem like the more likely candidate. But she has been a picture of calm on the court this week, and says she’s happy living in her “bubble” right now.

Second, how much can Chwalinska disrupt Andreeva, and get her out of the fearsome groove she’s in right now? Will her loops and chops and drops throw the Russian off and leave her frustrated? Or will Andreeva’s heavy ground strokes be too much for the smaller Pole to handle, and keep her in retrieval mode?

The Onion (@theonion.com)

Serena Williams Returns To Tennis https://theonion.com/serena-williams-returns-to-tennis/

Bluesky SocialThe Onion

• Bop of the Day: A final salute to Maja Chwalinksa.