Sonay Kartal became only the second British woman to reach a WTA 1000 final after overcoming Jelena Ostapenko in two tightly contested sets in Wuhan on Saturday. The 24-year-old prevailed 7-6, 7-6, winning the tie-breaks 11-9 and 7-5. She follows Johanna Konta, who reached finals in Beijing in 2016, Miami in 2017 and Rome in 2019.
Having recovered from a double break down in the opening set, Kartal saved two set points before edging the first tie-break. She overturned another break in the second set and survived two further set points while serving at 6-5. Ostapenko struck 50 winners but was unable to claim a set. Kartal described the contest as one of her toughest matches and ranked her mental performance among the best of her career. Her route to the final has also included victories over former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, former Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini and world number six Elina Svitolina.
Ranked 170th, Kartal is the lowest-ranked player to reach the Wuhan final. The result will lift her into the world's top 50 and make her Britain's highest-ranked woman. Her progress comes in just her third tournament since returning from a back stress fracture that sidelined her for six months and caused her to miss three of the year's four Grand Slams. Previously ranked as high as 44th, she returned at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals last month. She now faces French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska, who defeated fellow Pole Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1, in Sunday's final.
