The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 French Open quarterfinals.PARIS — The French Open has grown accustomed to seeing a Polish woman in the semifinals. There’s a reason it’s been nicknamed “Poland Garros” over the past few years.Usually, that spot is reserved for Iga Świątek, the four-time champion, who reached the semifinals five out of six times between 2020 and 2025.But Świątek was knocked out in the fourth round by Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, as the Queen of Clay continues her journey to rediscovering the tennis that helped her dominate the women’s tour for years.She needn’t have worried about who would carry Poland’s banner in her stead.In her first appearance in the main draw at Roland Garros, world No. 114 Maja Chwalińska won her eighth match in a row Wednesday, defeating No. 22 seed Anna Kalinskaya 7-6(3), 6-3 to become the second qualifier — and second Polish woman, after Świątek — to reach the French Open semifinals in the Open Era.Then, on Friday, she won her ninth. Chwalińska, whose name is pronounced “Hva-LEEN-ska,” overcame Aryna Sabalenka’s conqueror, 22-year-old Russian Diana Shnaider, 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the final.“I’m just very proud that I stayed composed, and managed to win this set,” Chwalińska said in her news conference after beating Kalinskaya. “Then the second set was just a battle. So I’m very happy, happy to win.”It is Chwalińska’s composure that stands out above all as she navigates the biggest on-court achievement of her tennis career. A promising junior in Poland, she made it to the Australian Open girls’ doubles final with Świątek as her partner in 2017, but their careers diverged after that. Chwalińska dealt with injuries, including a knee surgery in 2022, as well as a period of depression. She still primarily competes in WTA 125 tournaments, held the level below the WTA Tour.