Maja Chwalinska suffers first-round Wimbledon defeat by Mananchaya Sawangkaew
French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska has been knocked out in the first round of Wimbledon following a shock 2-6 7-5 6-2 defeat by Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew.
The 24-year-old Polish player entered the grass-court tournament as the 20th seed after receiving a wildcard entry.
Her elevated status came despite missing the direct ranking cut-off for the main draw at SW19.
This unusual situation arose following her historic run at Roland Garros last month, where she became the first qualifier to reach the women’s singles final.
From Paris fairytale to London early exit
Starting brightly in London, the recent Grand Slam finalist secured the opening set comfortably against her lower-ranked opponent.
However, her momentum faltered against the world number 164, who fought back tenaciously to claim the biggest victory of her career.
Sawangkaew was making her Wimbledon debut and only her second ever appearance in a major tournament main draw.
The Thai competitor previously suffered a first-round elimination against Emma Raducanu at this year’s Australian Open.
A stark contrast in major tournament fortunes
Defeat on the English grass marks a rapid crash back to earth for the former world number 114.
Just weeks ago in Paris, she joined Raducanu as only the second player in the Open Era to reach a major final as a qualifier.
Ultimately, that exhausting clay-court campaign culminated in a straight-sets championship loss to Mirra Andreeva.
She will now have to regroup ahead of the upcoming hard-court swing, while her conqueror advances to the second round at the All England Club.