Sonay Kartal Falls Just Short at Wuhan Open But Claims British Number One Spot

Britain's Sonay Kartal missed out on claiming the biggest trophy of her career after losing a hard-fought Wuhan Open final to Maja Chwalinska.

The Final Match

Kartal controlled the opening set and even held a break lead in the second frame. However, the twenty-four-year-old eventually ran out of both physical and mental energy. Poland's Chwalinska, who reached this year's French Open final, fought back brilliantly to seal a two to six, six to four, six to two victory. Chwalinska admitted feeling nervous while trying to close out her first WTA one thousand title, but she secured the win when her British opponent hit a forehand past the baseline.

Comeback Journey

This tournament marked only the third event for Kartal since she returned from a six-month break caused by a back injury. She was competing in just the tenth match of her strong comeback run. Before reaching Sunday's final, she defeated several tough opponents, including current top-ten players and former major champions. Had she won, she would have become the first Briton to claim a WTA one thousand title since Johanna Konta achieved the feat in 2017.

Context

Even though she lost the final match, Kartal experienced a massive career boost during the week. When the new rankings drop, she will jump to fiftieth in the world and take over as the top-ranked British female tennis player for the very first time.