Inside British number one Kartal's remarkable comeback

Six months ago, Sonay Kartal could not brush her teeth without "being in agony" – now she's the British number one after three events back from a long-term back injury. Sonay Kartal has become the British number one for the first time in her career Six months ago, Sonay Kartal could not stand up and brush her teeth without "being in agony". The pain caused by a stress fracture in her back eventually subsided, but the 24-year-old Briton still had a long road to full recovery, which needed to be navigated with patience and hard work. Kartal did not make her return to competitive action until little under a month ago.

But on Monday, she became the new British number one after an extraordinary week at the Wuhan Open, where she reached the biggest final of her career in just her third tournament back. "In the first month or so, I was at home in bed – sometimes I had good days but there were also bad days where I wasn't really able to walk without some form of pain," Kartal said. "It was a slow process and it makes you think you do take every day things for granted a bit." Given where Kartal was six months ago, and the length of time she was out injured, reaching the