Maja Chwalinska, a 25-year-old Pole, won her first title on Sunday in Wuhan, against Britain’s Sonay Kartal: 2-6, 6-4, 6-2. She will be world number 11 on Monday. I was in my kot (student room) in Louvain-la-Neuve, and I read her speech on We Love Tennis that same evening.
One sentence stopped me. She said: “There are people who watch me from home and who will recognise themselves.” Silly question, but how do you know if you recognise yourself? I watched from home. So technically, I tick the first box. For the second, I waited to feel something. I felt hungry.
I made a list of everyone she thanked, in order. Her team. Her two coaches. Her physio. The people watching from home. The crowd all week, for the lovely gifts and for the energy. She added that it was her first time in Wuhan and that it would certainly not be the last. I gave no gifts. I’m removing a box.
Then, according to Tennis Channel, she said “Wǒ ài nǐ” after lifting the trophy. I checked: it means “I love you” in Chinese. Who was it for? The message doesn’t say. I’m told it’s tradition to say a word in the language of the country, fine, but what does that mean? At the newsroom, someone told me “à tantôt” (Belgian for “see you later”) and I waited an hour.
And then I read the rest of her season. World number 114 at Roland-Garros, a final reached through qualifying. After that, five defeats in six matches. Then a WTA 1000 title. Nobody at the newsroom could explain to me what changed between defeat number five and the Wuhan final. I checked, and actually nobody knows.
The strings, Maxime. It’s always the strings.
She didn’t mention them in her speech. Neither the strings, nor me. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
