Beatriz Haddad Maia had a really good showing at Roland Garros (French Open) making her way the semi-final of the event which allowed her to break into the top 10 for the first time.
The Brazilian has been slowly working her way to the top of tennis after experiencing multiple difficult situations in her career. She's dealt with some tough things but overcame all of that and kept battling on the court. Battling on the court is exactly how her run at Roland Garros looked like as she battled back from some tough situation to make her way to the semi-final.
She took on Swiatek barvely but unfortunately wasn't able to beat the Polish player but then again nobody did. Swiatek ended up as the champion which actually helped Haddad Maia as it allowed her to become the top ranked player from Brazil on the WTA Tour. She's also the top ranked tennis player from Brazil on either the WTA or ATP Rankings.
Top South American player
She's also now the top South American player in tennis as no other player is ranked higher. That's quite an accomplishment as the continent does have a long history in tennis and many great players coming from it. It's just been a tremendous rise for Haddad Maia whose career is enjoying its best days. She's a great grass player s well so perhaps her improvement might even become larger.
Perhaps she might become a top 5 player over the course of the grass season which would be even more impressive all things considered. She posted an update following her Roland Garros exit:
Thank you so much. See you next year Roland Garros. We keep on learning. To all the people who cheered, woke up early, and sent positive energy, my thank you very much from the heart. We follow as the marathon is just beginning. Let the grass season come.