Chwalinska beats Swiatek to reach first WTA 1000 final in Wuhan

Maja Chwalinska defeated Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 in their all-Polish Wuhan Open semifinal Saturday, October 17, earning her first WTA 1000 final appearance. She will face Britain’s Sonay Kartal in Sunday’s championship match.

Chwalinska saved two set points after Swiatek moved ahead 5-3 in the opening set. Swiatek then received treatment for a leg problem, and Chwalinska won 10 of the final 11 games to finish the match in two hours, eight minutes.

Swiatek said afterward that she had been managing quadriceps pain since the beginning of the tournament. She completed the semifinal and said she had wanted Chwalinska to earn the victory without a retirement.

The result gives Chwalinska her first win over a top-10 opponent. Her only previous tour-level final came at this year’s French Open, and she has now won 17 tour-level matches in 2026, including 11 on hard courts.

Her Wuhan run included a breakthrough victory over Iva Jovic before she beat Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals. Sunday will be Chwalinska’s first career meeting with Kartal, with both seeking their first WTA 1000 title.