Sonay Kartal has reached the Wuhan Open final, beating Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5) in the semi-final to make the biggest final of her career. She is the first British player in a WTA 1,000 final since Johanna Konta in 2019.
The 24-year-old is ranked 170th in the world and has played only three events since returning from a six-month absence with a back injury. She is the lowest-ranked player to reach a WTA 1,000 final since the format began in 1990. Before the layoff she was ranked 54th, and she has been as high as 44th.
Ostapenko, ranked 34th and the 2017 French Open champion, led 4-1 in both sets. She finished with 50 winners and nine aces. But she twice failed to serve out the first set, at 5-4 and 6-5, and Kartal took it in the tie-break after saving three set points. The second set followed the same pattern, and Kartal saved three more set points on the way to a second tie-break win.
“That was probably one of the toughest matches I’ve ever played,” Kartal said. “At times she is unplayable and you have to ride that wave. Mentally, this is one of the best performances of my career.”
A fast return from injury
Kartal made her comeback a little over three weeks ago, playing for Great Britain at the BJK Cup. She won a couple of matches at the Beijing Open, then carried that form to Wuhan. Along the way she beat Tokyo Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, 2024 Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini and four-time major semi-finalist Elina Svitolina.
The semi-final was her first at WTA 1,000 level. Ostapenko was playing her ninth.
Kartal will play either six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek or French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska in Sunday’s final. Whatever the result, she will move back into the world’s top 50 and become Britain’s number one when the new rankings come out on Monday.
Source: BBC Sport
