Sonay Kartal now holds British WTA record despite losing in Wuhan Open final

Sonay Kartal now holds a British women's tennis record despite losing to Poland's Maja Chwalinska in the final of the Wuhan Open.

Kartal, who was ranked at number 170 before the tournament after only recently returning from a serious back injury, won the first set 6-2 before Chwalinska won the second and third sets 6-4 and 6-2 respectively to claim her first WTA 1000 title.

But merely appearing in the final was a sign of great progress for Kartal, who missed six months of the 2026 season - including all four Grand Slams - before returning in September. And the new record she has now set in Wuhan is yet more proof.

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Sonay Kartal nets major boost despite losing Wuhan Open final

Kartal is now the British women's number one despite her final defeat, rising up to number 50 in the WTA rankings. Katie Boulter, who is currently competing in a WTA 250 event in Osaka, held the spot before this week's tournaments got underway.

Had the 24-year-old won in Wuhan, she would have climbed a further 14 places to 36th in the rankings, which would have put her narrowly behind former Wimbledon and French Open singles finalist Jasmine Paolini.

But that is not the only positive that Kartal can take away from this week. By reaching the final, she became the lowest-ranked British player to reach a WTA 1000 final since the format's introduction in 2009, and only the second British player in general to reach the final after Johanna Konta did it in 2016, 2017 and 2019.

By virtue of what she went on to do in the final, therefore, Kartal is now the lowest-ranked British women's player to win one set in a WTA 1000 event.

She did not manage to follow in Konta's footsteps by winning a WTA 1000 crown - the 35-year-old did that at the Miami Open in 2017 - but surely get more chances in the future should her positive return from injury continue.

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'I don't think many expected...' - Kartal reacts to maiden WTA 1000 final appearance

Speaking on-court after her defeat to Chwalinska, who reached the final of the French Open earlier this year, Kartal said that she didn't think 'many people expected' her to be playing in a major final so soon after her comeback from serious injury.

"I've enjoyed my time here to the fullest," she said. "It's an amazing event here at the Wuhan Open, and I can't wait to come back next year. Playing in an atmosphere like this is a dream come true for me, and I hope I can be in many more finals.

"Obviously, it's not the result we wanted today, but those three people [her coaches] in my box are the reason I'm here, I'm healthy, and I'm back in form. We've had an incredible week. I don't think many people expected me to be here or to bring the level we brought, so thank you, guys. I love you.

"I'm very far from home right now and everyone at the tournament has made me feel right at home ... I can't wait to come back here next year."

WTA 1000 events are mandatory for all players to enter, with only the highest-ranked players occasionally skipping the tournaments and accepting the usual fine or ranking points sanction that comes with a withdrawal.

That means that Kartal has had to beat some of the best of the best players to reach the final, including seeded players Belinda Bencic and Evina Svitolina, before a semi-final victory over 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko. Chwalinska, meanwhile, produced a famous victory over her Polish compatriot and six-time Grand Slam singles winner Iga Swiatek in the semi-final.