A tale of two Polish girls--and why the WTA is endlessly interesting

Chwalinska outwits Kartal to win Wuhan Open reut.rs/4dJKpQS

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— Reuters (@reuters.com) October 18, 2026 at 8:50 AM

Once upon a time, there was a Polish girl who played doubles with another Polish girl. In 2015, they won the European 14-and-under title, and in 2016, they won the European 16-and-under title. One of those girls, Maja Chwalinska, was on the championship Polish junior Fed Cup team that same year, and in 2017, she was the runner-up in the Australian Open junior singles title match.

The other girl, Maja's friend, was Iga Swiatek. Serious tennis fans knew that Swiatek was someone to watch, and--sure enough--in 2020, she won Roland-Garros without dropping a set. She would go on to win in Paris three more times, in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and she would win the US. Open in 2022, and Wimbledon in 2025. 

In the meantime, Chwalimska played for the Polish Fed Cup team in 2019, played in a few major qualifying rounds, hurt her wrist, contracted Covid, then--in 2021, at the age of 19--she announced that she had been suffering from severe clinical depression for two years. Chwalinska then took a break from the tour in order to deal with her mental health.

When Maja Chwalinska returned to the tour in 2022, she recorded her first tour-level win at Wimbledon. She also continued to compete--and win titles--at 125-level events. But she had won only a half dozen tour-level matches when she entered the qualifying tournament at Roland-Garros in 2026. Chwalinska got through qualifying, and what happened after that, well--no one saw it coming.

In the first round, she defeated (with a second set bagel) Olympic gold medal winner Zheng Qinwen. In the second round, she upset 23rd seed Elise Mertens (also with a second set bagel), and in the third round, she defeated Maria Sakkari. Chwalinska went on to defeat Diane Parry in the round of 16, and to upset 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she upset 25th seed Diana Shnaider. 

It was a spectacular run, brought to an end in the final by 8th seed Mirra Andreeva, who defeated the young Polish player in straight sets to win her first major. 

Chwalinska sustained an injury in her first round Wimbledon match and lost, and she also lost in the first round of the U.S. Open. She would then go on to reach the semifinals of the Singapore Open, in which she would lose to eventual champion Leylah Fernandez. She lost in the second round of the China Open, a 1000 level event, but then came Wuhan, also a 1000 level tournament. 

Seeded 16th, Chwalinska defeated Mayar Sherif, Marie Bouzkova, the very on-fire 10th seed, Iva Jovic, and--once again--Maria Sakkari (with one bagel delivered). She then had the task of facing none other than her friend and former doubles partner, Iga Swiatek. Swiatek had performed very well in Wuhan, despite the fact that she had sustained a quad injury. That injury proved to be too much for her by the time she reached the semifinals. It was clear that she didn't want to retire against her friend, so she rode it out, and lost in straight sets.

That meant that the last Polish woman standing had to face the tournament's breakout star, Sonay Kartal, who had recently returned to the tour after a six-month back injury layoff. The British player impressed mightily in Wuhan, taking out Anhelina Kalinina, 9th seed Belinda Bencic (bagel included), 15th seed Jasmine Paolini (another bagel included), 5th seed Elina Svitolina, and Jelena Ostapenko, whom she beat in two tiebreak sets. 

That was a lot of heavy lifting. She lost the final in  three sets, but she did become the new British number 1. And--at the same time--Maja Chwalinska won her first WTA tournament--a 1000 event. She is now number 11 in the world.

"I need to rest": Świątek ends 2026 season early after "demanding" year.

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— TVP World (@tvpworld.bsky.social) October 20, 2026 at 11:10 AM

In the meantime, Iga Swiatek's career has taken a downward turn. 2026 marked the first year since her breakout in 2020 that she didn't win a major; the best she did was to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, in which she lost to eventual champion Elena Rybakina. Both fans and media have noted for some time now that Swiatek's comfort level on the court is not what it used to be, and she has made changes to her coaching team. She did win the 2026 Canadian Open, defeating Rybakina in the final. 

As of this writing, Swiatek has withdrawn from Ningbo because of her thigh inury, and it is highly unlikely that she will qualify to play in the WTA Fianls, an event that she won in 2023. Her season appears to be over. 

I believe that Swiatek will figure it all out. In 2025, there were people who said that she was as good as finished, and she won Wimbledon. She is, after all, Iga Swiatek. She's still in the top 10 (number 9), and she no doubt has an off-season plan for turning her career around. But who would have thought, just a few months ago, that the two Polish friends would have just one spot separating them in the rankings? Only in the WTA could there exist a story like this (not to mention the Kartal side story). This is why The Backspinner calls the tour "Simply Irresistible." This is why we are fans. 

Zheng Qinwen makes history--and a little music

Zheng Qinwen overpowers Mirra Andreeva to win China Open reut.rs/3UmZf9o

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— Reuters (@reuters.com) October 11, 2026 at 9:00 AM

Zheng Qinwen made her WTA Tour debut in 2021, and the next year, she broke into the top 100, reached the round of 16 at Roland-Garros, and was named WTA Newcomer of the Year. In 2023, Zheng entered the top 20 and won her first WTA title, in Palermo. She also reached the quaerterfinals of the U.S. Open, and the final of the WTA Elite Trophy event.

It was clear that the young Chinese player was a star on the rise, but just how clear it was became obvious in 2024 when Zheng reached the final of the Australian Open. She was defeated in that final by defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, but she would go on to on to win gold at the Paris Olympic Games, and to reach the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open again.

In 2025, Zheng achieved a ranking of number 4 in the world. That summer, she announced that she had experienced chronic pain in her right elbow for months, and that she had undergone surgery for the problem. She made a brief comeback that fall, but the elbow bothered her again, so she took some more time off in order to heal. When she returned to the tour in early 2026, her progress was steady, and she again reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. Her U.S. Open run was dramatic: She defeated Madison Keys in the third round after going down 0-5 in the third set. Following that run, Zheng re-entered the top 100.

There was more drama to come. Yesterday, Zheng became the first Chinese player to win the China Open, a WTA1000 event, and Zheng's first 1000-level title. To add to the drama, she defeated Roland-Garros champion Mirra Andreeva in straight sets in the final. As of today, Zheng is ranked number 23 in the world.  

It's especially frustrating to see a young star on the rise (Garbine Muguruza comes to mind) have a significant injury setback. But Zheng did what she had to do to take care of herself, and to practice and train and play her way back to the upper level of the game--and that even included performing some karaoke at the conclusion of the trophy ceremony.