Polish tennis player Maja Chwalinska, 20, was absolutely lost for words after qualifying for Wimbledon as her initial goal was just to make the cut for the Wimbledon qualifying event. This week, Chwalinska earned three hard-fought three-set wins to qualify for Wimbledon.
Chwalinska is now set for her Grand Slam main draw debut. “I feel speechless,” Chwalinska told the WTA website. “This year it was a goal to even qualify for the qualifying, so it’s amazing how things have turned out.”
A year ago, Chwalinska opened up about her battle with depression and decided to take a break from tennis. 12 months later, Chwalinska is doing much better and she is playing the tennis of her life.
Chwalnska on her battle with depression
“In 2019 I started to feel bad,” Chwalinska recalled.
“First on the court, but after I also started to feel bad off the court, and it led me to depression. Something I enjoyed the most suddenly became a source of suffering. I associated tennis with pressure, stress and crying.
I was dealing with that until last year’s Wimbledon, when I decided to take a break. I didn’t know that I would come back, to be honest, because things were not fine. There were dark thoughts. It was tough to even leave the house.
I didn’t have any desire for anything.” After being sidelined for four months, Chwalinska returned to action in October last year. When Chwalinska returned to the Tour, she was getting approached by fellow players who wanted to know how she was able to overcome the difficulties she was battling.
Chwalinska’s story is quite inspiring and gives hope to those who are not doing well with their mental health. Now, Chwalinska is preparing play Katerina Siniakova in the Wimbledon first round. Chwalinska and Siniakova will be going head-to-head for the first time when they meet in the first round at The All England Club.
