Sonay Kartal produced the biggest result of her career at the Wuhan Open on Friday, beating fifth seed Elina Svitolina 6-2 2-6 6-4 to reach her first semi-final at WTA 1000 level. The 24-year-old from Brighton, ranked No 170 this week, became the lowest-ranked player ever to reach the last four of the Wuhan Open.
The win completes a remarkable week: playing only her third tournament after six months out injured, Kartal has now beaten four established tour players in a row.
How the quarter-final unfolded
Kartal dictated the opening set with her counter-punching and depth, taking it 6-2 before Svitolina, a four-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, levelled the match by the same score. The Ukrainian had looked sharp all week, dropping only five games against Guo Hanyu in the round of 16 (6-1 6-4), but Kartal held her nerve in the deciding set and closed it out 6-4.
Speaking after the match, Kartal said she was "super proud" of the way she stayed composed, according to Sky Sports, and described the atmosphere as "amazing".
A run through four big names
Kartal's path to the semi-finals reads like a who's who of the WTA Tour:
- Round 1: Anhelina Kalinina, 7-5 6-3, after recovering from a double break down in the first set.
- Round 2: ninth seed Belinda Bencic, 6-0 7-5 — Kartal won all 12 of her first-serve points in a 27-minute opening set.
- Round of 16: 15th seed Jasmine Paolini, a two-time Grand Slam finalist.
- Quarter-final: fifth seed Elina Svitolina, 6-2 2-6 6-4.
After the Bencic win she told the LTA: "I think I saw snippets from my tennis six months ago" — a reference to the form she showed before her injury.
From a stress fracture back to the top 100
Kartal's season had stalled in the spring. After reaching the fourth round at Indian Wells in March, she was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her back and missed six months, including three of the four Grand Slams and Wimbledon. She returned at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals last month, then reached the third round in Beijing before this breakthrough week.
The ranking impact is immediate. From No 170, Sky Sports projects her to return to around No 87 — back inside the top 100 — with more to come if she goes further. Her career high remains No 44. Follow the movement in our live WTA rankings.
Next: Jelena Ostapenko
Standing between Kartal and Sunday's final is Jelena Ostapenko. The former French Open champion came back from 5-2 down in the first set to beat 11th seed Diana Shnaider 7-6 (8-6) 6-1, hitting 32 winners — taking her total for the week to 138. The contrast of styles is stark: Ostapenko's all-out aggression against Kartal's ability to return one more ball. Former British player Naomi Broady suggested on Sky Sports that Ostapenko may not enjoy that style, and noted the Latvian had withdrawn from the doubles.
In the other half, Iga Swiatek meets Ann Li, who knocked out top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the second round. The winner plays Maja Chwalinska or Maria Sakkari for the other place in the final.
What it means
A semi-final at this level is worth far more than ranking points for Kartal: the points lift her back towards the ranking she needs for main-draw entries at the biggest events, and the run confirms that her game holds up against top-20 opposition week after week. Whatever happens against Ostapenko, Wuhan has turned a lost season into a launch pad for 2027. Follow the semi-finals live on our tennis scores.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- Sky Sports — Sonay Kartal: Brit breaks new ground by upsetting Elina Svitolina to reach Wuhan Open semi-finals
- BBC Sport — Kartal upsets Svitolina to reach Wuhan semi-finals
- LTA — Wuhan Open 2026: Sonay Kartal upsets Belinda Bencic to reach third round
- Tennis Majors — Elina Svitolina vs Hanyu Guo — Wuhan Open, round of 16