Kartal battles past Ostapenko in Wuhan to secure spot in first-ever WTA 1000 final

The 24-year-old to become new British No 1Biggest final of career after six months out with injurySonay Kartal’s dream comeback continues as the Briton beat Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets to advance to the biggest final of her career at the Wuhan Open.Kartal hit back from behind in both sets and fought off six set points to claim a 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5) win over the former French Open champion in only her second tour-level tournament back after injury. Continue reading…

Sonay Kartal’s dream comeback continued as the Briton beat Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets to advance to the biggest final of her career at the Wuhan Open Biggest final of career after six months out with injury Sonay Kartal’s dream comeback continues as the Briton beat Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets to advance to the biggest final of her career at the Wuhan Open. Kartal hit back from behind in both sets and fought off six set points to claim a 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5) win over the former French Open champion in only her second tour-level tournament back after injury.

The 24-year-old, who started this week ranked world No 170 due to her recent inactivity, becomes the lowest-ranked player to reach a WTA 1000 final since the format began in 2009. The semi-final victory also means Kartal is guaranteed to jump into the world’s top 50 in the new WTA rankings next week, overtaking Katie Boulter to become British No 1. “That was probably one of the toughest matches I’ve played in,” Kartal said. “I knew exactly how