On Court 12 at Wimbledon, Mananchaya Sawangkaew stood one point from defeat, then refused to lose. The 23-year-old qualifier, ranked 164 in the world, came back to beat the No. 20 seed and Roland-Garros finalist Maja Chwalinska 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round on 29 June 2026. It was her first main-draw win at a Grand Slam and her first over a top-30 player. It was also the first time a Thai woman had won a match at Wimbledon in eight years.
For a set and a half, the match belonged to Chwalinska. Eschewing the high topspin forehands that served her so well in Paris, Chwalinska instead utilized a biting slice that barely bounced and sharp angles to pull Sawangkaew off the court. The Thai fell behind fast. Sawangkaew had been slow out of the blocks, falling behind 5-0 in under 20 minutes, but once she got a foothold was able to show off her own grass-court prowess.
The point that turned it
The match hinged on a single moment. Chwalinska was a point away from victory at 6-2, 5-2, but slipped on the grass behind the baseline, allowing Sawangkaew to put away a volley winner. The injury didn't initially seem serious, but Chwalinska required a medical timeout and treatment on her right leg after losing that game. From there the balance shifted. The next two games were also deuce nailbiters, but Sawangkaew managed to avoid facing another match point as she pegged Chwalinska back to 5-5. Though Chwalinska went up an early 2-0 break in the decider, the last six games of the match were one-way traffic for Sawangkaew. By the end, Chwalinska was barely able to push off on her right leg on either serve or return. The whole contest ran to two hours and 41 minutes.
Sawangkaew kept her focus narrow while her opponent struggled.
"I tried to focus myself on that time mostly," she said. "Because my coach always tell me, 'Just focus on yourself first.' So I just mostly focus on myself, just still fight every ball the same."Her game plan was born of necessity. "I play like this because I'm so small," Sawangkaew explained. "So only way I have to take the ball early, and then finish the point, like, early."
A step in the climb
The win did not come from nowhere. Sawangkaew also saved three match points in her final qualifying round to defeat Oceane Dodin 5-7, 7-5, 6-1. The road to London had been longer still. The Thai made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the Australian Open in January after being sidelined for six months last year due to a back injury she sustained at Roland Garros.
Her result carries a wider weight for Thai tennis. Sawangkaew is the first Thai player to win a match at Wimbledon since Luksika Kumkhum reached the second round in 2018. The 23-year-old from Sing Buri is one of two Thai women in this year's main draw, a joint Open Era record.
She fought for every ball, and the grass held for her. The rest of her story begins here.
