John McEnroe left Tim Henman squirming live on TNT Sports when he asked the retired British star the golden question that has been on everyone’s lips – will Maja Chwalinska get a Wimbledon wildcard? The Polish star made a name for herself at the French Open, coming through qualifying and finishing as runner-up, losing only to Mirra Andreeva.
Chwalinska will now rise from No. 114 to No. 21 in the world. Until now, her career-high ranking had been 113th. But, as it stands, she will have to go through qualifying again if she wants to compete at Wimbledon, as the entry cut-off came six weeks before the start of the grass-court tournament, when she was ranked too low to get in.
Following her heroic exploits at Roland Garros, there have been plenty of questions over whether the All England Club will award her a wildcard into Wimbledon. The 24-year-old has more than proven herself, reaching a Grand Slam final as a qualifier and beating a host of top players.
And McEnroe knew just the person to ask. Henman sits on the board of the All England Club, which will meet in just over a week to discuss wildcard recipients. Chwalinska joined the TNT Sports team live on air on Sunday, and McEnroe took the opportunity to ask the man himself, who was also sitting at the desk as part of the broadcast team.
“So say you’re [going to be No. 21 tomorrow], we’ll throw it out. So suddenly, does that mean you’re straight in Wimbledon or the cutoff was six weeks ago, so you would need a wildcard if you were choosing to play Wimbledon?” McEnroe asked Chwalinska, one day after she lost in the French Open final.
“Yeah, exactly. It was too late, I was already No. 114 I think when there was a cut-off,” she replied.
And McEnroe was ready to fight her corner. “So I have just the person to talk to over here, he’s on the Wimbledon committee and I’m thinking that she would be absolutely, Tim, perfect, after what she’s accomplished here. A fellow left-hander, to get a wildcard, and you could be the first to say so, on TNT,” he said, turning to Henman, who jokingly tried to turn away and leave.
Chwalinska was delighted to have the seven-time Grand Slam champion on her side. “ Oh my god, John is on my side,” she grinned.
Henman didn’t give too much away, but replied: “I couldn’t agree with you more, John.” And McEnroe jokingly congratulated the Polish star on her expected wildcard.
It remains to be seen whether the All England Club do give Chwalinska a pass into the main draw, but she’s happy to go through the preliminary rounds again if needed. Speaking after Saturday’s final, she said: “Honestly, I don’t expect it [a wildcard], but yeah, I mean, I’ll see. I will treat it as a challenge.”
