Sonay Kartal upset ninth seed Belinda Bencic to continue her post-injury momentum at the Wuhan Open. The Briton, who reached a career-high ranking of 44 last year, has slipped to 170th in the world after a six-month injury absence.
Having returned to action for Great Britain at last month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals, the 24-year-old reached the third round at the Beijing Open last week. She then beat Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in her opening match in Wuhan. Her impressive 6-0 7-5 win over Swiss world number 12 Bencic, a Wimbledon semi-finalist last year, was the second biggest victory of Kartal’s career by ranking.
“I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn’t know how quickly,” Kartal said.
“I did a lot of things right today, but I still think there’s a long way to go.
“I can produce the level, but can I sustain it? I think that’s going to be the hardest challenge. I’m happy to be back, I’m feeling good.”
Kartal will face Italian 15th seed Jasmine Paolini for a place in the quarter-finals.
Injury disrupted strong start to the season
Kartal suffered a stress fracture in her back in March, which meant she missed three of this year’s four Grand Slams, including Wimbledon. The 24-year-old reached the fourth round at her home Slam last year and was in good form before the enforced break.
She beat American top-20 seeds Emma Navarro and Madison Keys at Indian Wells before retiring against Elena Rybakina in the third round because of the back issue. Kartal beat Chinese 31st seed Wang Xinyu to reach the third round in Beijing, and she has now won four of her five matches since her return to the WTA Tour.
Sabalenka suffers another early exit
Four-time major champion Aryna Sabalenka suffered an unexpected early exit, losing to American Ann Li in a dramatic second-round match. Top seed Sabalenka had a bye in round one, but she fought off nine match points before 31st-ranked Li sealed a 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-5) victory on her 10th opportunity.
It was Sabalenka’s second successive defeat, following her loss to world number 34 Nikola Bartunkova in Beijing last week. The 28-year-old Belarusian, who needed treatment for a knee injury in Wuhan, led by a set and a break before Li turned the contest around.
Sabalenka saved five match points at 5-2, two at 5-4 and another pair in the tie-break, yet she was beaten again from a strong position against an opponent ranked well below her. That pattern has hindered the world number two during a frustrating season, in which she has reached two Grand Slam finals without winning one.
“It was a crazy match. I didn’t start well and I missed opportunities, but she played well on those match points,” said Li, 26, who recorded the biggest victory of her career.
Sabalenka’s exit came shortly after American second seed Jessica Pegula was beaten 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko. Former world number one Iga Swiatek did progress on Wednesday, recording her 40th win of the season with a 6-2 6-1 victory over fellow Pole Magdalena Frech.