Maja Chwalinska scored the biggest upset of Roland Garros qualifying so far, knocking out No.2 seed Lucrezia Stefanini 6-2, 6-1 in just 67 minutes to reach the second round.
The 21-year-old Pole, who overcame depression to make her Grand Slam debut at Wimbledon last year, was out of action for six months following the US Open due to a knee injury. However, her renowned touch was on display against Stefanini as Chwalinska struck 15 winners and won nine of her 10 points at net.
Embracing new experiences, Taylor Townsend challenges tennis to do the same
Elsewhere, Taylor Townsend continued to surge on European red clay with a 7-6(1), 6-2 defeat of Natalija Stevanovic. The American returned from maternity leave just over a year ago, but has rocketed back to No.108 in the rankings after a third-round showing in Rome and a run to the Florence 125 final last week. Townsend fired 30 winners in total against her Serbian opponent.
Former Roland Garros semifinalist Tamara Zidansek also advanced, overcoming Uzbekistan's Nigina Abduraimova 7-6(2), 4-6, 6-2 in 2 hours and 36 minutes. No.4 seed Zidansek, who made the last four here in 2021, had to come from 2-0 down against the World No.176.
No.29 seed Brenda Fruhvirtova, 16, was victorious in the tightest match of the day. The Czech, who qualified for her first major at the Australian Open in January, had to save one match point in the deciding super-tiebreak to beat Croatia's Antonia Ruzic 3-6, 6-2, 7-6[10].
Another teenager to advance was 2022 Australian Open junior champion Petra Marcinko. The 17-year-old Croat came through 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 against Katherine Sebov to set up a second-round encounter with No.17 seed Clara Tauson. Former World No.33 Tauson, on the comeback trail from an injury-struck 2022 season, defeated Katie Swan 6-4, 6-2.
Elsewhere, former Moscow River Cup champion Olga Danilovic continued her strong form with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Heather Watson. The 22-year-old Serb won the Madrid ITF W100 title last week and has rocketed back up to No.104 in the rankings.