Coming Back Stronger

On the "magical" run of Kamil Majchrzak, who has resurrected his career via a long and winding road back to Wimbledon.

WIMBLEDON, England — Most folks—including myself— focused in the opening days on all the stars who were departing Wimbledon prematurely.

Falling Stars at Wimbledon

There were a few notable aftershocks in the second round, too, foremost No. 4 Jack Draper bowing out in four sets to Marin Cilic on Thursday evening to the considerable disappointment of locals.

But rather than further rue the departed, I thought it would be more worthwhile to illuminate someone whose little-known story is, I think, worth knowing.

Despite arriving to Wimbledon on a seven-match losing streak, and never before having won a main draw match here, 29-year-old Kamil Majchrzak is currently in the third round of Wimbledon for the first time.

109th-ranked Kamil Majchrzak winning his second round at Wimbledon on Wednesday. (ZUMA Press, Inc / Alamy)

Majchrzak is now ranked 109th; a little over three years ago, he was ranked at a career high of 75th. But in between those two marks, Majchrzak fell off the board completely, and had to rebuild from zero after his own journey from the very bottom rungs of the tennis ladder.

“It's been a long and emotional journey for me,” Majchrzak, whom I also interviewed again this week, told me in an interview in Paris. “I feel physically strong; mentally, I feel stronger. So I'm just curious to see where this is gonna bring me.”

You’ll also hear from both Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner—both of whom share an experience in common with Majchrzak—in this article.

Piotr Bernaciak, a journalist covering Wimbledon for Poland’s Przegląd Sportowy Onet, effusively told me Majchrzak’s run was “absolutely amazing and breathtaking—the most beautiful story of the tournament.”

That’s a high bar to set, but I hope I can do Kamil Majchrzak and his story some justice below for Bounces subscribers.