British tennis player Sonay Kartal has reached the final of the Wuhan Open, the biggest final of her career, beating Jelena Ostapenko 7-6(9), 7-6(5).
The win, reported by the WTA Tour and British outlets including Sky Sports, took the 24-year-old into her first final at a WTA 1000 event, the tier of tournaments just below the Grand Slams. On the way she also beat ninth seed Belinda Bencic, former Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini and world No. 6 Elina Svitolina, the last of those 6-2, 2-6, 6-4. “I definitely did not think that I would find this level this fast,” Kartal said after sealing her place in Sunday’s final.
It is a stunning turnaround for a player who had slipped to world No. 170 after six months out with a back injury. In only her third tournament back, Kartal has not lost a match in 2026 in which she took the opening set, and the run to the final guarantees a major climb up the rankings.
Who is Sonay Kartal?
Kartal is a 24-year-old British player who first caught wider attention with a breakout run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, marking her out as one of the country’s brightest young talents. A back injury then cost her six months on the sidelines and sent her ranking tumbling from a career high around No. 54 down to No. 170.
Her week in Wuhan, beating a string of higher-ranked opponents on the way to a maiden WTA 1000 final, is the moment that comeback turned into a genuine breakthrough. Whatever happens in Sunday’s final, it already reshapes the rest of her season, and you can keep up with the final and the rest of the tennis in our sport section.
