Britain’s Sonay Kartal has surged into the Wuhan Open semi‑finals, a WTA 1000 event, in only her third tournament back from injury.
She kept the momentum alive by toppling fifth seed Elina Svitolina 6‑2 2‑6 6‑4.
Next up she meets former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday for a shot at Sunday’s final.
On court Kartal admitted, “Even after a comfortable first set, I knew Svitolina’s fighting spirit meant I wasn’t safe until the very last point.”
“I’m super proud of the grit I showed, and I think my composure stayed solid throughout,” she added. For my money, she’s this week’s breakout star.
She continued, “I’m breaking new ground – never before have I reached a WTA 1000 semi. I love these courts, the atmosphere was electric today.”
After a fourth‑round run at Indian Wells in March, the 24‑year‑old missed six months with a stress fracture in her back, returning last month at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Kartal, once ranked as high as No 44, made the third round in Beijing last week.
In Wuhan she has dispatched world No 48 Anhelina Kalinina, world No 12 Belinda Bencic, two‑time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini, and now four‑time major semi‑finalist Svitolina.
Svitolina vs Kartal: Tale of the Tape
Now sitting 170th in the WTA rankings, she will climb back into the top 100 – she sits at No 87 after this win – becoming the lowest‑ranked player ever to reach a Wuhan semi.
She missed three of this year’s four Grand Slams, including Wimbledon.
Ostapenko rallied from 5‑2 down in the first set to beat 11th seed Diana Shnaider 7‑6 (8‑6) 6‑1.
The Latvian’s 32 winners pushed her weekly total to 138.
Who would want to play Kartal right now?
“It’ll be interesting because when Svitolina raised her aggression, Sonay struggled in set two, but that’s Ostapenko’s baseline game, isn’t it?”
“Sonay will expect that. She’s seeing the ball early, so the match will be about keeping it out of her strike zone.”
“Ostapenko withdrew from doubles, likely due to a forearm issue – we saw her physio on court against Jessica Pegula and she’s been taped since.”
“She won’t enjoy facing a player like Kartal when pressure mounts on Ostapenko’s backhand; she doesn’t always perform at her best then.”
American Ann Li, who shocked top seed Aryna Sabalenka in round two, fell short as Iga Swiatek won 6‑4 6‑1.
Li will meet Maja Chwalinska in an all‑Polish duel after the French Open finalist beat a resurging Maria Sakkari 6‑0 3‑6 7‑5.
Spanish wonderkid to meet Medvedev for Shanghai final – will he be upset?
Rafael Jodar became the youngest semi‑finalist in Shanghai Masters history by beating Casper Ruud.
The 20‑year‑old Spaniard rallied from a set down to win 4‑6 6‑4 6‑3.
It marked the fourth consecutive Masters 1000 match where Jodar overturned a first‑set deficit.
He now faces Daniil Medvedev for a final spot after the former US Open champion dispatched Tommy Paul 6‑3 1‑6 6‑3.