Maja Chwalińska advances in Antalya as Kawa also reaches last 16
maja chwalińska opened her campaign at the WTA 125 Megasaray Hotels Open in Antalya with a straight-sets victory, beating 18-year-old Adelina Lachinova 6: 1, 6: 3. The win keeps Chwalińska on course to chase the ranking points she needs to close a roughly 180-point gap to the top 100.
Maja Chwalińska overpowers Lachinova in first round
Seeded seventh in the clay-court event, Chwalińska (ranked 134 in the WTA standings) set the tone early with an authoritative 6: 1 opening set that she finished with an ace. She twice broke Lachinova (ranked 587 WTA, 51 ITF) in the first set run and twice again in the second, closing the match 6: 3 after the Latvian narrowed the margin at one stage.
The match featured momentum swings: Chwalińska led 6: 1, 4: 1 before a brief lapse invited a response from Lachinova, who turned a few slight errors from the Pole into opportunities and earned multiple break points. Chwalińska defended the key chances, converting crucial winners — including a forehand drive volley that punctured a game where Lachinova had two consecutive break chances — and pushed back to secure the second break that finished the match.
Chwalińska’s coach, Jaroslav Machovsky, has guided her through a season that includes a WTA 250 quarterfinal appearance in Cluj-Napoca and a dramatic WTA 125 semifinal in Oeiras. The player has prioritized clay this portion of the calendar, declining an attempt to qualify at Indian Wells and turning instead to the clay swing that includes this Antalya stop and other 125-level events on the European red dirt.
What makes this notable is that Chwalińska has deliberately targeted clay to maximize the points she can earn on her preferred surface; the immediate effect is an opportunity to convert match wins here into the kind of ranking climb that would open main-draw entry at larger events and Grand Slams.
Chwalińska will face Despina Papamichail (159 WTA) in the round of 16, with the match scheduled for Thursday in the tournament’s order of play.
Katarzyna Kawa rebounds with victory and moves into 1/8 final
Katarzyna Kawa, who earlier exited in the first week of the Antalya swing but returned for the second edition of the event, ended a losing run by defeating fifth seed Mayar Sherif (104 WTA) 6: 3, 1: 6, 6: 2. Kawa is listed at 146 in the WTA rankings.
The win for Kawa came after a roller-coaster three sets: she edged the opening set with a series of breaks, dropped the second after losing serve multiple times, then regrouped in the decider to build a two-break cushion and serve out the match. Her prize for victory is a place in the last 16, where she will play either Ipek Oz (564 WTA) or Katarina Zavatska (294 WTA).
The Antalya event carries a $115, 000 prize pool and awards 115 WTA points to the champion; the winner’s cheque is set at $15, 500. Main-draw play in the Megasaray Hotels Open runs from March 3 to March 8, with both Polish players now into the second round and competing for the points that could influence their scheduling and entry options later in the season.
Beyond immediate match results, both Polish players are positioned to challenge higher-ranked opponents in the coming rounds: a run of wins at a WTA 125 carries measurable ranking benefit, and for Chwalińska in particular it would narrow the sizeable shortfall to the top 100 and improve her pathway into larger tournaments.
