Britain's Sonay Kartal was beaten in a deciding set by Poland's Maja Chwalinska in a pulsating Wuhan Open final. Kartal led by a set and a break as she looked to become just the second Briton, after Johanna Konta, to win a WTA 1000 title but French Open finalist Chwalinska produced a superb display to fight back and win 2-6 6-4 6-2. Nevertheless, it has still been a remarkable week for Kartal, the best in her career so far, after only returning to the tour earlier this month following a six-month lay-off due to a back injury.
Kartal was 170th in the WTA rankings prior to the Wuhan Open but her run to the final will see her return to the top 50 after impressive wins over Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini, Elina Svitolina and Jelena Ostapenko. It is arguably the most impressive tournament performance from a British female player since Emma Raducanu won the 2021 US Open. Kartal will become the new British No 1 on Monday.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing