In Paris, Chwalinska has played with infectious freedom and joyful creativity, beating two seeded players and Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen along the way.
She kept her composure well against Kalinskaya, first having to reset after letting a 5-1 lead slip in the opener, before reeling off five straight points from 3-2 down in the resulting tie-break to take the lead.
She then held her nerve in the second, recovering from being broken as she tried to serve out victory before clinching her first match point on Kalinskaya’s serve.
“I was definitely nervous. I am stressed, of course, but I try to focus on my job and my games,” Chwalinska said.
“I am not focusing on confidence. I am playing against the best players in the world, so I will not compare myself to them.”
Chwalinska said her aim for 2026 was to break into the world’s top 100.
She is currently projected to leap into the top 30, regardless of her semi-final result.
By reaching the final four, she has also secured prize money amounting to £647,700.
That means she has more than doubled her total career earnings, which had stood at £642,400, in the space of 10 days.
