Maja Chwalinska gets Wimbledon wildcard support as John McEnroe puts Tim Henman on the spot
John McEnroe has told Maja Chwalinska she deserves to receive a wildcard for Wimbledon, and he put Tim Henman on the spot about the issue during a live interview.
Chwalinska stunned the tennis world by winning nine consecutive matches to reach the final at the 2026 French Open as a qualifier ranked 114th in the world.
The Pole dropped just one set en route to the final at Roland Garros as she upset players including Maria Sakkari, Anna Kalinskaya and Diana Shnaider.
The 24-year-old’s fairytale run ended with a 3-6, 2-6 loss to world No 8 Mirra Andreeva in the championship match on Saturday.
Chwalinska‘s heroics in Paris will see her soar to 21st in the WTA Rankings next week.
Despite this, she is not guaranteed a place in the main draw at Wimbledon due to her ranking at the time of the cutoff for the grass-court Grand Slam.
Chwalinska will likely need a wildcard for Wimbledon if she is to avoid having to qualify, and many have argued she is deserving of one.
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The day after the women’s final, Chwalinska joined John McEnroe, Tim Henman and Anne Keothavong in the TNT Sports UK studio.
McEnroe told Chwalinska he is an admirer of her game.
“She plays old school. I love the way you play, because I had the same problem; I couldn’t blow people off the court and I wasn’t that tall,” said the American.
McEnroe then raised the topic of Chwalinska receiving a wildcard for Wimbledon, and he asked Henman — who is on the Wimbledon board — for his verdict.
“I have just the person to talk to over here (points to Henman), he’s on the Wimbledon committee,” said the seven-time major singles champion
“And I’m thinking that she would be absolutely perfect, after what she’s accomplished here, to get a wildcard, and you could be the first to see it.”
“Oh my god, I have John on my side,” said Chwalinska.
Henman did not confirm whether Chwalinska will get a wildcard, but he replied: “For once, I couldn’t agree with you more, John.”
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