Britain’s Sonay Kartal upset ninth seed Belinda Bencic 6-0 7-5 at the Wuhan Open as she continued to build momentum after a long injury absence. The win was the second biggest of Kartal’s career by ranking.
Kartal reached a career-high ranking of 44 last year but has slipped to 170th in the world after a six-month break. The 24-year-old returned to action for Great Britain at last month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals and reached the third round at the Beijing Open last week. She then beat Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in her opening match in Wuhan before defeating Bencic, the Swiss world number 12 and a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year.
“I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn’t know how quickly,” Kartal said.
“I did a lot of things right today, but I still think there’s a long way to go. I can produce the level, but can I sustain it? I think that’s going to be the hardest challenge. I’m happy to be back, I’m feeling good.”
Kartal will face Italian 15th seed Jasmine Paolini for a place in the quarter-finals.
Kartal suffered a stress fracture in her back in March, which meant she missed three of this year’s four Grand Slams, including Wimbledon. Before the injury, she was in good form. She beat American top-20 seeds Emma Navarro and Madison Keys at Indian Wells, and she retired against Elena Rybakina in the third round because of the back problem. She reached the fourth round at her home Slam last year.
Since returning to the WTA Tour, Kartal has won four of her five matches. In Beijing, she beat Chinese 31st seed Wang Xinyu to reach the third round.
Sabalenka Suffers Another Early Exit
Four-time major champion Aryna Sabalenka suffered an unexpected early exit in Wuhan, losing 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to American Ann Li in a dramatic second-round match. Sabalenka, the top seed, had a bye in round one. She fought off nine match points before Li, ranked 31st, sealed the win on her 10th opportunity.
It was Sabalenka’s second straight defeat, following a loss to world number 34 Nikola Bartunkova in Beijing last week. The 28-year-old Belarusian needed treatment for a knee injury in Wuhan. She led by a set and a break before Li turned the match around.
Sabalenka saved five match points at 5-2, two more at 5-4, and another pair in the tie-break, but she still lost from a strong position to a player ranked well below her. The pattern has hindered the world number two during a frustrating season.
“It was a crazy match. I didn’t start well and I missed opportunities, but she played well on those match points,” said Li, 26, who recorded the biggest victory of her career.
Sabalenka’s exit came shortly after American second seed Jessica Pegula lost 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko. Former world number one Iga Swiatek progressed on Wednesday, recording her 40th win of the season with a 6-2 6-1 victory over fellow Pole Magdalena Frech.