Polish tennis boom: federation says 2026 is its best year ever

Not long ago, hardly anyone in Poland had heard of Maja Chwalińska. Now she is credited with kicking off a tennis craze. The head of the Polish Tennis Association (PZT), Dariusz Łukaszewski, says 2026 is "probably the best year in the history of Polish tennis".

What happened?

Łukaszewski says the number of licensed players in Poland has jumped by 20–30% in a single year, across all age categories. He calls it a historic increase.

More Polish teenagers are also playing international tournaments and climbing the rankings. Even among amateurs, he says, competition at home is much tougher than before.

How did we get here?

In June, Chwalińska reached the Roland Garros final, a Grand Slam breakthrough. In October she won the WTA 1000 title in Wuhan and rose to 12th in the world rankings.

With Iga Świątek, Poland now has two women in the world's top tier. Łukaszewski argues that Chwalińska's story sends a strong signal: you can get to a French Open final even without spectacular results early in your senior career.

He also points to role models. Agnieszka Radwańska, Świątek and now Chwalińska show younger girls that the top is reachable. "If Iga managed it, there is no reason why they couldn't," he says.

What about the men?

Only two Poles, Hubert Hurkacz and Kamil Majchrzak, are in the ATP top 100. Łukaszewski says the men's tour has about three times more competition than the women's. He adds that Poland cannot match the richest federations financially and lacks the long traditions of France, Italy, Britain or Spain.

What's next?

The federation is looking at the next generation. Among boys, Jan Sadzik and Alan Ważny are improving month by month. Among girls, Łukaszewski names Barbara Kostecka and Oliwia Sybicka.

He also calls 15-year-old Oliwia Kądzielska a "little gem" who reminds him of Chwalińska. She is already the third-best junior in the national ranking. The federation's job, he says, is to make use of the current tennis fashion in Poland.