Polish Tennis Star Maja Chwalińska Advances to WTA 125 Semifinals in Antalya

ANTALYA, Turkey — Maja Chwalińska triumphed in a dramatic quarterfinal at the WTA 125 tournament, defeating fifth seed María Lourdes Carlé 7-6(2), 6-4 on March 20, 2025. The match lasted over two and a half hours and was played in challenging windy conditions.

The 23-year-old from Poland started strong against the 97th-ranked Argentine, quickly establishing a 5-1 lead. Although she secured a set point while serving, Carlé mounted a fierce comeback, claiming five consecutive games.

Despite being on the brink of losing the first set, Chwalińska broke Carlé’s serve at 5-6, forcing a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Chwalińska displayed her prowess, winning decisively 7-2.

The second set featured a flurry of breaks, with both players struggling to maintain their serves. In ten games, there were seven breaks, but Chwalińska ultimately prevailed, closing out the match on her first match point after Carlé hit a shot out of bounds.

Chwalińska will face France’s Elsa Jacquemot in the semifinals. Jacquemot, currently ranked 141st, advanced by defeating Veronica Erjavec 6-1, 6-4. This will be the first meeting between Chwalińska and Jacquemot.

“I’m excited for the challenge ahead,” said Chwalińska. “It feels great to be competing in the semifinals again.”

In addition to her singles success, Chwalińska has also reached the doubles semifinals with partner Anastasia Detiuc, having defeated the duo of Ella Seidel and Jil Teichmann 6-1, 6-3.

Meanwhile, another Polish player, Magdalena Fręch, faced an early exit in the WTA 1000 Miami Open, losing in the first round to Elena Gabriela Ruse 4-6, 4-6. This marked Fręch’s fifth consecutive defeat.

The Miami Open is significant as Fręch, seeded 29th, had received a bye in the first round, but Ruse, who had to qualify for the tournament, capitalized on her momentum. The Romanian began the match aggressively, although Fręch momentarily took the lead when she broke Ruse’s serve in the first set.

Despite this breakthrough, Ruse quickly regained control, closing the first set 6-4 and leading 3-1 in the second before Fręch fought back to 3-4. However, Ruse maintained her advantage and ultimately secured the victory after an hour and 42 minutes.

Looking ahead, Iga Świątek is set to make her debut in the Miami Open on March 21 against Caroline Garcia. Świątek, currently ranked second in the world, will play her match at 5 p.m. local time. Both players last met at Indian Wells earlier in March, where Świątek won convincingly 6-2, 6-0.

Fans can watch the match live, with Świątek’s victory opening the path to face either Elise Mertens or Peyton Stearns in the next round.