Sonay Kartal Makes History In Wuhan, Reaching First WTA 1000 Final and Closing In On British No. 1 Spot

Sonay Kartal’s comeback to tennis court continues to be a fairytale run for her as she beats Jelena Ostapenka in straight sets to register one of the biggest wins of her career and advance to the Finals of the Wuhan Open. Ostapenko was leading in both the sets, and Kartal came from behind to fight six set points to claim a stunning 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5) win over the former French Open winner.

The 24-year-old, who started the week ranked world no 170 due to her recent absence from the court, now becomes the lowest-ranked player to reach a WTA 1000 finals since the format began in 2009. The Brit’s semi-final win over Ostapenko also means she is now guaranteed to make her place in the world’s top 50 when the latest WTA rankings are announced next week, and she will be overtaking Katie Boulter as the British No. 1.

Speaking about her incredible performance after the win over Ostapenko, Kartal said, “I knew exactly how she was going to play. At times [Ostapenko] is unplayable, and sometimes you have to ride that wave. Mentally I think this is one of the best performances I’ve had in my career.”

Kartal was trailing Ostapenko and then in an incredible display of tennis, she negated the double break in the opening set and rode her luck on the serve before closing the set in her favour in a marathon tie-breaker. The Brit had to struggle in the second set also, and she had to dig deep into all her energy reserves to recover from a break.

She saved two set points on her own serve at 6-5 before forcing a second consecutive tie-break, which she promptly closed and secured the win. Her semi-final win extended a remarkable series of wins against top players like Belinda Bencic, the former Olympic champion, Jasmine Paolini, the two-time Grand Slam finalist and the current world number 6, Elina Svitolina.

Kartal made her breakthrough in international tennis by reaching the fourth round of the Wimbledon in 2025, but found her momentum stalled after she sustained a major back injury that kept her out of action for about six months. Since her comeback, she has shown positive signs of being the one to watch; she had earlier won two matches at the China Open on her return to competitive tennis.