Sonay Kartal continued her impressive comeback from long-term injury on Thursday, beating former Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open. It is only her third tournament since a six-month absence.
Kartal, 24, missed more than six months with a stress fracture in her back, but she has won five of her seven matches since returning to action. The former world number 44 ruthlessly brushed aside Italian 15th seed Paolini, in a performance that further validated her patient approach to recovering from the first serious injury of her career.
It was another statement performance from Kartal following her straight-sets win over ninth seed Belinda Bencic in the previous round.
“Against someone as good as Jasmine is, I knew I had to be solid from the start and not let up,” Kartal said.
“From my side, it was a pretty flawless performance.”
How patience has become a virtue for Kartal
Kartal was riding the crest of a wave early in the season. She had broken into the world’s top 50, reached two WTA quarter-finals and recorded wins over top-class opponents. Victories over 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former world number eight Emma Navarro in Indian Wells set up a meeting with now world number one Elena Rybakina in the fourth round.
However, Kartal was forced to retire from that match with a back injury that proved more serious than first thought. After initially hoping for a quick recovery, she was left unable to brush her teeth without “being in agony”, which forced some difficult decisions.
Missing Wimbledon was a particularly tough choice, especially as she reached the fourth round of her home Grand Slam in 2025. However, resigning herself to not rushing a comeback has proved wise.
Her first match back, a little over three weeks ago, came while representing Great Britain at the BJK Cup. She lost narrowly, but then won two matches to reach the third round in Beijing in her WTA Tour return.
“At the BJK Cup, the level I produced was much higher than I thought and I left super happy,” Kartal said.
“Now I’m growing in confidence with every match I’m playing.”
Momentum carries into Wuhan
Playing on a protected injury ranking, Kartal has carried that momentum into Wuhan. She has not dropped a set in victories over Ukrainian world number 48 Anhelina Kalinina, 2020 Olympic champion Bencic and two-time major singles finalist Paolini. Paolini, who reached the French Open and Wimbledon finals in 2024, became the second former top-five player to lose a set 6-0 to Kartal this week.
Kartal maintained a high level from the baseline as Paolini unravelled with a series of unforced errors. She will now meet Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Zverev advances in Shanghai
Elsewhere, Alexander Zverev continued to show why he is the best men’s player in the world this season. He produced a dominant 6-4 6-4 win over Australia’s world number nine Alex de Minaur in the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals.
Zverev, now assured of finishing the season as the year-end ATP number one, will face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semi-finals.