Sonay Kartal continued her strong return to competitive tennis by defeating Anhelina Kalinina in straight sets at the Wuhan Open, securing a place in the second round.
The British number five, who missed six months of play due to a back stress fracture, overcame the Ukrainian player 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 31 minutes. She will now face Swiss ninth seed Belinda Bencic.
Kartal, currently ranked 170th in the world, has shown marked improvement since her comeback victory. In her previous WTA tournament at the Beijing Open, she reached the third round, having also won matches against Andrea Lazaro Garcia and Wang Xinyu before falling to Alina Charaeva.
Against Kalinina, a world number 48, Kartal served four aces and won 23 of her 30 first-serve points. She converted her third match point after her opponent had saved two earlier opportunities.
Meanwhile, Zheng Qinwen has withdrawn from the Wuhan Open. Zheng recently made history as the first Chinese player to win the China Open, but cited fatigue and the physical toll of an intense schedule as the reasons for her exit. She also underwent elbow surgery last year and has battled fitness issues over the past year.
Zheng’s withdrawal is surprising but understandable given her injury history. Hope she recovers fully for next season.
Incredible resilience from Kartal after that back injury layoff. Beating a top-50 player in straight sets is no small feat!