WUHAN: Sonay Kartal beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (7-5) on Saturday to reach her first Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 final at the Wuhan Open in China.
The Briton recovered from 4-1 down in both sets and saved six set points against the Latvian former French Open champion. Her run guarantees a return to the world’s top 50 and Britain’s number one position when rankings update on Monday.
Kartal, 24, entered the tournament ranked 170th after a six-month absence with a back injury. However, she has reached her biggest final in only her third event since returning.
Ostapenko initially dominated with powerful serving and aggressive returns. But she failed twice to serve out the opening set, allowing Kartal to force a tiebreak.
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Although Ostapenko built another commanding lead in the second set, Kartal again recovered and held firm in the decisive moments. “That was probably one of the toughest matches I’ve ever played,” Kartal said.
She becomes the lowest-ranked WTA 1000 finalist since the format began in 2009. Meanwhile, she is the first British player to reach a final at this level since Johanna Konta in 2019.
Earlier victories over Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini and Elina Svitolina helped Kartal reach the last four. She now faces Poland’s Maja Chwalinska, who defeated compatriot Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 in the other semi-final.
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Sunday’s final is scheduled to begin no earlier Kartal saved six set points to defeat Ostapenko and reach her first WTA 1000 final, where she faces Chwalinska.
