Mananchaya Sawangkaew beat No. 20 seed Maja Chwalinska 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 at Wimbledon 2026. The qualifier saved one match point and turned a point away from defeat into her first Grand Slam main-draw win.
Sawangkaew Turns It Around
The match lasted 2 hours and 41 minutes. Sawangkaew, a 23-year-old from Sing Buri and No. 164 in the rankings, had already shown that sort of escape act in qualifying when she saved three match points against Oceane Dodin and won 5-7, 7-5, 6-1.
At Wimbledon, that same refusal to go away carried her through a final set that flipped the match after Chwalinska had led 6-2, 5-2. Sawangkaew’s response gave her a first victory over a Top 30 opponent and made her the first Thai player to win a match at Wimbledon since Luksika Kumkhum in 2018.
Chwalinska's Slip Changes Everything
Chwalinska was a point from closing it out before she slipped on the grass behind the baseline. She needed a medical timeout and treatment on her right leg after the fall.
That interruption came in the middle of her first grass-court match of the season, and the momentum shifted from there. After the match, Chwalinska said, “I fell, and I felt my ankle,” and added, “I wanted to continue, but I felt some -- I mean, I didn't feel comfortable moving, so I wanted to tape it. But, you know, I would lose this point anyway, like it doesn't matter if I fell or not. It definitely didn't help me later on, but it is what it is.”
Lanlana Tararudee In Reach
Sawangkaew is one of two Thai women in the Wimbledon main draw this year, alongside Lanlana Tararudee. If Tararudee beats Lilli Tagger, Thailand could have two women in the second round, and Sawangkaew would arrive there with a result that already separates this run from her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open in January.
Her path has been direct. She was sidelined for six months last year by a back injury she sustained at Roland Garros, then returned to qualify and beat Dodin before carrying that edge into Wimbledon. After the match, Sawangkaew said, “I tried to focus myself on that time mostly,” and added, “Because my coach always tell me, 'Just focus on yourself first.' Then I have control a lot in my mind and a lot of what I have to do. So I just mostly focus on myself, just still fight every ball the same.”
