Sonay Kartal produced another outstanding performance at the Wuhan Open, defeating fifth seed Elina Svitolina in three sets (6-2, 2-6, 6-4) on Friday, 16 October. The 24-year-old British player has reached the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time in her career. Having already knocked out Belinda Bencic and Jasmine Paolini in successive rounds, Kartal has continued her impressive return to form just weeks after making her comeback following six months on the sidelines through injury.
Kartal continues winning run against top-level opposition
Kartal began her Wuhan campaign with a straight-sets victory over Anhelina Kalinina (7-5, 6-3), before taking a significant step forward against ninth seed Belinda Bencic. The British player dominated the Swiss, winning 6-0, 7-5 and making an excellent start to establish control of the match. Although Bencic responded in the second set, her efforts were not enough to turn the contest around, allowing Kartal to secure a statement victory against a highly ranked opponent. She followed that performance by overcoming Jasmine Paolini in the next round. Facing the 15th seed, Kartal delivered her most convincing display of the tournament, dropping just two games to claim a 6-2, 6-0 victory in just over an hour. After losing her serve early in the opening set, the British player immediately turned the match around, winning five consecutive games before taking complete control in the second. It was another impressive result that secured her place in the quarter-finals, matching her previous best performance at WTA 1000 level.
The challenge was even greater on Friday morning against Elina Svitolina, the fifth seed and a former world No. 3, currently ranked seventh. As she had done in her previous two matches, Kartal claimed the opening set 6-2, only for the Ukrainian to fight back and level the contest at one set apiece, also winning 6-2. The deciding set proved much tighter, but the British player maintained her composure and found a way to make the difference. She eventually broke Svitolina’s serve to seal the match at the first time of asking, completing a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 victory.
The win takes Kartal into her first WTA 1000 semi-final, where she will face Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion, who secured her place in the last four with a victory over Diana Shnaider. The Latvian had also knocked out British player Katie Boulter earlier in the tournament. Kartal, meanwhile, has already beaten Ostapenko at Wimbledon in 2025. Their upcoming encounter will therefore offer the British player another opportunity to demonstrate her progress against an opponent accustomed to competing on the biggest stages.
A return to the forefront after six months out
In 2025, Kartal enjoyed the best season of her career, reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon and the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 event in Beijing. Her victory over Mirra Andreeva, then ranked fourth in the world, in the Chinese capital was one of the standout moments of her breakthrough campaign. She subsequently climbed to a career-high ranking of world No. 44 in July.
However, a stress fracture in her back forced her to interrupt her 2026 season in March, when she retired from her match against Elena Rybakina at Indian Wells. The injury subsequently ruled her out of three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, including the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Having returned to competition in September, Kartal resumed her campaign in Beijing before continuing her progress in Wuhan. Now guaranteed a place in the semi-finals, the British player has demonstrated that her level can enable her to compete with opponents ranked considerably higher than her current world ranking of No. 170. Against Ostapenko, she will have the opportunity to take another significant step forward and reach her first final at this level, potentially bringing her one step closer to a maiden title.
