A 24-year-old Polish tennis player arrived in Paris last week ranked 114th in the world, with no sponsors, no guaranteed income, and no certainty she could even pay for her hotel room.
She had to win three qualifying matches just to enter the French Open main draw. Prize money is only paid at the end of the tournament, so a Polish sports drink brand quietly stepped in and covered her hotel bill.
Her name is Maja Chwalinska. And today, she plays in the French Open final.
Before this tournament, she had won exactly one Grand Slam main draw match in her entire career. She had battled depression so severe that in 2021 she couldn't get out of bed. She underwent knee surgery in 2022. She spent years grinding through small tournaments across Europe just to stay afloat.
Then she arrived in Paris, won three qualifiers, and kept winning. Zheng Qinwen. Elise Mertens. Maria Sakkari. Diana Shnaider. Nine straight matches. One set dropped.
She is now the first qualifier in French Open history to reach the final. The last time a qualifier reached a Grand Slam final, it was Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu won.
By simply making the final, Chwalinska has earned more prize money than her entire career combined. The runner-up cheque alone is $1.6 million. If she wins today, she takes home $3.25 million.
One week ago she couldn't pay for her hotel room.
Komplet Lepinja
📍Zlatibor, Serbia 🇷🇸
Taste Zlatibor: https://t.co/QymwyknfW9
Straight from the Užice and Zlatibor region of western Serbia, Komplet Lepinja is one of the country’s most beloved breakfasts. A freshly baked lepinja is filled with creamy kajmak, topped with an egg, baked until golden, and finished with warm meat drippings known as pretop. The result is rich, comforting, and irresistibly indulgent. Traditionally enjoyed with a glass of yogurt, this Serbian classic is the definition of comfort food.
Video: @dom.pastramlija
Ruby doesn’t know she was surrendered.
She doesn’t know a decision was made.
She only knows her family disappeared.
A volunteer took her out expecting to comfort a scared dog and ended up sitting on the floor with her while she pressed in close, buried her face, and quietly asked not to be left again.
Ruby is a 1-year-old Shepherd / Belgian Malinois mix. Housebroken. Good with kids. Good with other dogs.
She’s at Cobb County Animal Services in Marietta, GA.
One share can be the difference between another night in a kennel and somebody saying come on girl, let’s go home.
H/T Sharing.Lov Instagram