Andy Roddick Raises Wimbledon Concern for Maja Chwalinska After French Open Run: ‘Ain’t Getting One Over Serena’

Maja Chwalinska arrived at Roland Garros with a dream, just like everyone else on those clay courts. She carried no sponsor to cover her hotel bills and played through scorching Paris heat that toppled every top seed. Her biggest milestone before the quarterfinals was simply posing for a photo at Rafael Nadal’s plaque. Now she stands on the brink of history, ready to face Mirra Andreeva in Saturday’s final. This run has been a fairytale, but what comes at the next Grand Slam may be far harder to achieve.

“There’s a lot of moving parts. It’s not as simple as like she should get one for sure. It’d be a great story,” Andy Roddick claimed on the latest episode of the Served Podcast. “I hope she gets it. She isn’t getting one over Serena if she decides to play.”

Chwalinska will land in the Wimbledon main draw next year, but this season she has to fight for a wildcard. If you missed the news, Serena Williams is returning to doubles at the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club in London, her first tournament since the 2022 US Open. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has fueled rumors for months, denied the talk, then confirmed the comeback earlier last week.

With Williams pushing for her long-awaited return and the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) handing out wildcards based on prestige and Championship history, Roddick says Maja Chwalinska’s main draw chances look slim. He also pulled in another player’s example to back his point.

“Serena (Williams) decides to play, that’s a wildcard gone. They gave it to Kvitova as a past champion last year. There’s some star power that it’s going to be a fight for the wildcards. I could see them not doing it. If she wins the tournament, it’s a different story. Didn’t we see last year, (Lois) Boisson didn’t get the wildcard? She made the semis (French Open),” he added.

Lois Boisson lived the same Cinderella story at last season’s French Open. She entered as a wildcard, stormed to the semifinals, and became the lowest-ranked semifinalist at a Grand Slam in nearly 40 years. Her ranking exploded from No. 361 all the way to No. 65. Yet she still missed out on a Wimbledon wildcard and crashed in the first round of qualifying against Carson Branstine. How does that happen after such a breakthrough run?

The answer lies in Wimbledon’s entry cut-off date. The deadline for main draw entry and wildcards ends six weeks before the tournament kicks off. Boisson’s ranking surge came too late, and Chwalinska faces the exact same timing problem. Both players sat outside the top 100 when the entry window closed, so neither can bypass three qualifying rounds. No matter how high their rankings climbed at Roland Garros, the clock simply did not work in their favor.

This situation can very well change if Chwalinska goes on to win the French Open final against Mirra Andreeva. The triumph would see her gain 2,000 points on the rankings and break into the top 15. It will also lead to the AELTC considering her more seriously for one of the eight wildcards at stake, and the crowd would want to see her in action at Wimbledon.

However, this is where another problem can arise for the Pole. Turns out that her nationality can also prevent her from getting a wildcard at Wimbledon.

AELTC hands out several Wimbledon wildcards to British players

One of the things that AELTC considers before handing out wildcards for Wimbledon is whether the players are able to boost local interest and promote domestic participation. That is why they give multiple wildcards to British players only. For context, seven out of the eight wildcards were handed to British players in the women’s draw last year.

Only six wildcards will remain if both Serena and Venus Williams end up gaining direct entry into the singles draw. Many British candidates can be given wildcards for Wimbledon.

One of the names in contention is British No. 5, Harriet Dart. Ranked No. 171, she is expected to feature in the upcoming HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club. Dart has failed to gain wildcards at both the Australian and French Open this year, but has a good chance of directly entering the main draw at Wimbledon

British No. 6, Katie Swan, is another name expected to be considered for a wildcard at the Championships. While her current ranking may be No. 203, she has an impressive 18 singles titles and 1 doubles title at the ITF World Tour under her belt and is a well-known name on the circuit.

18-year-old Mimi Xu can also have an opportunity to play at Wimbledon. The youngster has four ITF titles under her name and is already ranked No. 7 in Britain. Having just turned pro last year, it would be nothing short of a dream for Xu if she gained an entry to the main draw at the Championships.

Even if the AELTC hands out wildcards to these three players, three spots would still be up for grabs. This means that Chwalinska will still have a chance of directly reaching the main draw. If she does get the wildcard, then it would be her second appearance in Wimbledon’s main draw. She had previously made it through the three qualifying rounds in the 2022 edition and had also won her first-round clash before getting eliminated in the next match.

It remains to be seen if the Pole will be able to gain her first-ever wildcard entry into Wimbledon’s main draw, or if she will get snubbed by the AELTC for someone else.

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