Anna Kalinskaya Faces Heat from Fans for Not Giving Credit to Maja Chwalinska After Roland Garros Exit: “Sore Loser”

Maja Chwalinska reached her career's first Grand Slam semifinal by defeating Anna Kalinskaya.


Anna Kalinskaya Faces Heat from Fans for Not Giving Credit to Maja Chwalinska After Roland Garros Exit: “Sore Loser”

Anna Kalinskaya, Maja Chwalinska (Image via X/ pooledaz888, The Tennis Letter)

Maja Chwalinska is into the Roland Garros semifinal. The Pole, before this event, had played in the main draw events of just two Majors. And now, after making her French Open main draw debut, the 24-year-old is just two wins away from a fairytale run. In the quarterfinals, she knocked out Anna Kalinskaya 7-6(3), 6-3.

The Russian played the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time. It was also the second time she reached the last eight of a Major. Before this season, she had never made it past the second round of the French Open. After her exit, she said this about Chwalinska’s performance at the press conference:

Well, I checked her statistics before; she only plays on clay. So, she played maybe three matches on hardcourt. I don’t know. Let’s see how she’s going to do because now she has a better ranking. She’ll have to play different surfaces. So, I would like to take revenge on grass or hardcourt.

Chwalinska has scheduled her semifinal match against Diana Shnaider. The Russian ace ended World No.1 and last year’s runner-up Aryna Sabalenka‘s run.

Fans slam Anna Kalinskaya for not giving credit to Maja Chwalinska

Fans criticized Anna Kalinskaya for suggesting that Maja Chwalinska only defeated her because the surface was clay. They said the 27-year-old should have accepted her defeat, as they think she was only making excuses.

Anna Kalinskaya
Anna Kalinskaya (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

Check out their reactions here:

Kalinskaya has yet to taste success in a singles tournament. She has featured in three finals, losing the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships to Jasmine Paolini, the 2024 Berlin Open to Jessica Pegula, and the 2025 Washington Open to Leylah Fernandez.

Maja Chwalinska compares her run to that of Emma Raducanu

Emma Raducanu enjoyed a fairytale run at the 2021 US Open, defeating Fernandez in the final, en route to which she did not drop a single set. Chwalinska, at the press conference after her latest win, compared her Roland Garros run to that of the Brit’s run at the New York Major.

Emma Raducanu (via X/Barstool Tennis)
Emma Raducanu (via X/Barstool Tennis)

It was an incredible journey, and she was very young. I think she was 19, right? Was she 18? And I also believe she didn’t drop a set; it was impressive. I feel that the level is very even; the qualifying phase is not much weaker than the main draw. Qualifying players are also very good competitors; we just have to believe, fight, and think that maybe someday everything will fall into place for us.

Raducanu, however, has yet to win another title since that Grand Slam win. She, in fact, reached her career’s second singles final in this year’s Winners Open, losing the match to Sorana Cirstea.

I want to leave Roland Garros this year with no regrets; I want to give it my all, and I know that social media can be a bit overwhelming in these situations. So I try to give myself the best chance to play my best tennis. 

Maja Chwalinska added

Raducanu’s Roland Garros run ended in the first round. The 23-year-old lost to Solana Sierra in straight sets. In the first semifinal, Mirra Andreeva knocked out Marta Kostyuk to reach her career’s first Grand Slam final. Before this event, she had made the semifinals of a Major just once (in 2024), and last year, she suffered a quarterfinal exit.

Andreeva has already won two Big Titles (last year’s Dubai Tennis Championships and Indian Wells Open). Before Roland Garros, she played three finals this season: she won the Adelaide International against Victoria Mboko and the Linz Open against Anastasia Potapova. But in Madrid, Kostyuk defeated her.

Also read: Joao Fonseca Explains How Roland Match Versus Jakub Mensik Was Different Compared to Ones He Played Against Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud