Britain’s Sonay Kartal missed out on what would have been the biggest title of her career as she faded in a gripping Wuhan Open final against French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska.
Kartal, 24, was bidding to lift the trophy in only her third event since returning from a six-month absence caused by a back injury.
But an extraordinary week in China seemed to catch up with Kartal as she ran out of steam – physically and mentally – in a 2-6 6-4 6-2 defeat.
Kartal was playing in just the 10th match of her impressive comeback and was attempting to become the first Briton to win a WTA 1,000 title since Johanna Konta in 2017.
Ranked 170th in the world at the start of the event, Kartal reached Sunday’s final by seeing off a host of notable opponents, including current top-10 players and former major champions.
However, Poland’s Chwalinska, who made a shock run to this year’s Roland Garros final, dragged Kartal into a brutal battle and ultimately got the better of it.
Kartal dominated the first set and led by a break in the second before Chwalinska turned momentum in her favour.
Chwalinska, 25, felt a few nerves as she closed in on her first WTA 1,000 title, but took her third championship point when Kartal hammered a forehand long.
Despite losing the final, Kartal has enjoyed a transformational week which even she did not see coming.
On Monday, she will climb to 50th in the world rankings – just below her career high – and become the British number one for the first time. She also earned prize money of about £290,000.
Addressing her team before receiving the runners-up trophy, Kartal said: “It’s not the result we wanted today, but those three people in my box are why I’m here, healthy and back to fitness.
“We’ve had an unbelievable week – not many people expected me to be here and bring the level I did.”
Kartal runs out of steam in brutal scrap
Throwing herself into the “deep end” – as Kartal described going straight into WTA 1,000 tournaments after her long lay-off – has proved to be a sound decision.
The British number five was able to enter the Wuhan Open, one of the tournaments in the tier below the Grand Slams in terms of field strength and prestige, through a protected injury ranking.
Those are given to players who have been out for six months or more.
Kartal acknowledged even she has been taken by surprise by how well she has played so early in her comeback.
Her scalps included former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, the 2024 Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini, and world number six Elina Svitolina.
She added 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko to the list in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Ostapenko often took the racquet out of Kartal’s hands with her explosive – and often erratic – brand of first-strike tennis, but Chwalinska was a different proposition.
Chwalinska is largely a counter-puncher who looks to draw mistakes from opponents, meaning Kartal quickly found herself in longer rallies than she did against Ostapenko.
Chwalinska has joined Karolina Muchova, Jessica Pegula, Aryna Sabalenka (2), Marta Kostyuk, Elina Svitolina, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Zheng Qinwen in winning WTA 1,000 titles in 2026
