Schwolow began his youth career at 3. Liga side SV Wehen Wiesbaden. He left in 2008 for SC Freiburg's U17 team from where he later progressed to the U19 team.
In 2010, Schwolow was promoted to SC Freiburg's reserve team. He managed to start 51 games in the Regionalliga Südwest, conceding 77 goals while keeping 12 clean sheets.
On 1 January 2012, Schwolow was called up to SC Freiburg's first team. He made his first appearance on 10 May 2014 in a 3–2 loss to Hannover 96.[1]
On 1 July 2014, Schwolow agreed to a two-year loan to Arminia Bielefeld who aimed at gaining promotion following their relegation from the 2. Bundesliga.[4] He made his debut on 26 July 2014 in 2–1 win over Mainz 05 II.[5] Schwolow made his first appearance in a non-league game in a 4–1 win over SV Sandhausen in a DFB-Pokal match on 17 August 2014.[6]
Hertha BSC
On 4 August 2020, Hertha BSC agreed on a deal with SC Freiburg to sign Schwolow, after triggering his €8 million release clause.[7][8] Under head coach Bruno Labbadia, the 28-year-old replaced long-time regular starter Rune Jarstein and made 18 Bundesliga appearances.[1] As the Berlin-based side were in danger of relegation, Labbadia was replaced by Pál Dárdai, who had already coached the team from 2015 to 2019, and he preferred Jarstein in goal from matchday 19. However, Dárdai stated: "Alex Schwolow owns the future. He's number one, even if Rune is playing at the moment."[9] On matchday 27, Schwolow returned in Hertha's goal as Jarstein was out after becoming infected with the Alpha variant of COVID-19 during the pandemic.[10]
Schwolow became the starting goalkeeper again during the 2021–22 season, as Hertha were once again in a relegation fight. On 2 April 2022, he suffered a thigh injury in the league match against Bayer Leverkusen, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.[11] He was replaced in goal by backup Marcel Lotka, and afterwards by Oliver Christensen in the relegation playoffs against Hamburger SV after Lotka broke his nose.[12]
On 26 July 2023, his contract with Hertha was terminated by mutual consent.[13]
On 26 July 2023, Schwolow signed for 1. FC Union Berlin ahead of the 2023–24 season, joining the club shortly after they had secured qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history.[15] Across his two seasons in Berlin, Schwolow primarily served as understudy to first-choice goalkeeper Frederik Rønnow, and made seven competitive first-team appearances. He left the club upon the expiry of his contract in the summer of 2025.[16]
International career
Schwolow represented Germany at various youth levels, including the under-18, under-19, and under-20 teams. He has not been capped at senior international level.
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