Britain's Sonay Kartal was beaten in a deciding set by Poland's Maya 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.
"That was one heck of a battle, Maja," said Kartal, who will become the new British No 1 on Monday. "I hope I can be in many more of these finals. It was not the result I wanted today but those people in my box are the reason I am healthy, I am here and why I am back to fitness." 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. "We have had an unbelievable week. Not many people expected me to be here and bring these levels, so thank you, guys," said Kartal.
In Sunday's final, Kartal came flying out of the blocks, showcasing the excellent variety she has displayed all week in Wuhan to break early and race into a 2-0 lead in the opening set. Chwalinska broke back before Kartal restored her break advantage and led 4-1 before going on to claim the first set in 45 minutes by simply overpowering the Pole. The dream week looked to be becoming a reality when Kartal broke early in the second set, only for Chwalinska to find a way to counter her opponent's canny game by suddenly raising her aggression levels.
Chwalinska got back on level terms and forced Kartal to work hard to hold, with the Briton having faced more than 50 points on serve compared to Chwalinska's 15 at one point in the middle of the set. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The turning point came when Chwalinska went 4-3 up to break in the second set. Even though Kartal broke straight back to make it 4-4, the momentum had completely changed as Chwalinska broke again then held serve to take the final into a deciding set.
The opening four games were shared, but perhaps the effects of returning to competitive action only last month began to catch up with Kartal as fatigue set in. Chwalinska started to come out on top in the longer rallies she had been losing earlier in the match, reeling off four consecutive games to claim the biggest title of her career. Watch the WTA and ATP Tours live on Sky Sports, with next week's action including events in China, Japan, Kazakhstan, France and Belgium.
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