Sonay Kartal continues her winning run by beating Jelena Ostapenko to reach Wuhan Open final

British player Sonay Kartal continues her fine run by beating former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5) to reach the Wuhan Open final

ByThe Associated Press

October 17, 2026, 7:56 AM

WUHAN, China -- British player Sonay Kartal continued her fine run by beating former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (9), 7-6 (5) to reach the Wuhan Open final on Saturday.

Kartal's victory over the 2017 Roland Garros winner added to previous big wins over Elina Svitolina and two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini.

The No. 170-ranked Kartal missed more than six months with a stress fracture in her back earlier this year.

The 24-year-old Kartal, who has a career high ranking of 44 and one singles title, next faces either six-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek or French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska.

The Polish players met later Saturday in their semifinal.

Winning the Wuhan title would allow Swiatek to pressure Karolina Muchova in the Race to the WTA Finals rankings ahead of the season-ending event next month in Indian Wells.

The former No.1-ranked Swiatek is 10th in the race with the top eight qualifying.