While the journey has been challenging at times, the last few steps have been glorious for Poland’s Maja Chwalinska after she defeated Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova to reach the second round of The Championships, Wimbledon. 

Chwalinska recorded a pulsating first-round victory over Siniakova, winning 6-0 7-5, and will now face Alison Riske of the United States on Wednesday, having last week navigated qualifying to propel herself into the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time. 

It was a gruelling qualifying week during which saw the world No. 172 chalk up victories against Spain’s Aliona Bolsova, Alexandra Cadantu-Ignatik of Romania and, most crucially, former world No. 9 CoCo Vandeweghe.

Her first-round victory at the All England Club is a hugely significant moment for Chwalinska, who took a break from the game after Wimbledon qualifying last year, revealing that she was struggling with depression and experiencing “dark thoughts”.

This proved an incredibly difficult period but, thankfully, one which Chwalinska has negotiated, and now she is able to look to the future, both on and off court, with positivity, excitement and assurance.

“It was in 2019 when I started to feel bad,” said Chwalinska. “Firstly, it was on court but then after I also felt bad off the court, which led to depression. I was dealing with that from 2019 until Wimbledon last year when I decided to take a break.

“I didn’t even know if I would come back because things weren’t fine. At first, it was really tough to even leave the house because it wasn’t a good situation. But then, I went back home and spent time with my parents and friends and that really helped me.

“The people around me were very supportive and they didn’t put any pressure on me and just wanted me to be happy. We didn’t even talk about tennis anymore because they knew that if I wanted to come back then I would.

“I tried running which wasn’t my thing and boxing which was really cool, and then after about three months I decided to try tennis again. I stepped on court and thought, ‘actually, maybe I could start practising and we will see what happens’.”

Left-hander Chwalinska made her competitive return on the ITF World Tennis Tour at W25 Loule, while this year she has won titles and boosted her ranking by topping the podium at W25 Monastir in January and then W60 Prague last month.

The momentum continued and has led her to the Grand Slam stage, with Chwalinska once again at peace with the game and armed with the necessary coping methods to allow her on-court talent to flourish.

“First of all, I am not as strict with myself and do not punish myself, and I try to control my monologue,” added Chwalinska, who recorded the biggest victory of her career against world No. 118 Ekaterine Gorgodze in the W60 Prague final.

“When I hit a bad forehand before, I started saying, ‘I suck’ and when you repeat it, that gets overwhelming. I now try to control my thoughts or just let them go and focus on my breathing exercises.”

What has also proven beneficial to Chwalinska is the wider conversation around mental health and the breaking down of barriers from a topic which in times gone by may well have been left undiscussed or ignored.

The focus on mental health has been aided by the likes of four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and current world No. 1 Iga Swiatek – a compatriot and friend of Chwalinska’s – speaking out on the subject.

“That is huge,” said Chwalinska, who competed alongside Swiatek as Poland triumphed at the 2016 Junior Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Budapest, defeating United States in the final.

“After I announced that I had been dealing with depression and then after I came back, a lot of female players asked me about what they should do because they don’t feel well.

“It was a little bit strange because I didn’t know the scale of the problem. All sports are challenging but, in a lot of ways, tennis is even more challenging because you are alone on the court and there are times you travel alone or with the coach.

“These are tough conditions. You are not at home for long periods, and it is very challenging. I feel it is very important to speak about that and I feel like it is getting better. There is a lot of work to do but I feel as though it is getting better and going in the right direction.”

Evidently, much has happened since, but in 2020 Chwalinska was one of 29 players to receive an ITF-administered Grand Slam Player Grant, funded by the Grand Slam Player Development Programme, of up to $25,000 to help with competition-related costs.

A further 44 players, both professional and junior, received a similar grant this year, with the premise of the programme to encourage and increase competitive opportunities for players from developing tennis regions. Chwalinska remains grateful.

“This support is very important because tennis is very expensive,” said Chwalinska, a member of the Poland squad that reached the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals after overcoming Romania in April's Qualifier. 

“I hope I will get to a higher level but, at the moment, it is really difficult to attract sponsors. I feel that I wouldn’t be able to play – I wouldn’t have any money to play – without such help, so it is very important that people are supporting players in this way.

“Even when I had the break, I knew I had support, and knowing I didn’t have that pressure was a big factor in coming back, I also know that people want me to perform and just be happy on the court.”

She was the picture of happiness – she was ecstatic in fact – following her toppling of Vandeweghe and that feeling will only have increased following victory over Siniakova. As she said following her victory over Vandeweghe: "It's amazing how things turn out." It certainly is. For Chwalinska, the second round awaits.