Sonay Kartal needed 27 minutes to take the first set off the world No 12. By the time Belinda Bencic had found a way into the match, the damage was already irreversible.
The 24-year-old from Brighton, ranked 170th after six months lost to a stress fracture in her back, beat the Swiss ninth seed 6-0, 7-5 on Wednesday to reach the third round of the Wuhan Open. Hours later the tournament lost its biggest name: Aryna Sabalenka, a three-time champion in the city, went out 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5) to the unseeded American Ann Li, saving nine match points before Li converted her 10th with a forehand winner.
Twenty-seven minutes that changed the draw
Kartal’s opening set was close to flawless. She won all 12 of the points she played behind her first serve and conceded nothing, handing Bencic — the Tokyo Olympic champion and a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2025 — a bagel inside half an hour.
Bencic recovered to lead 3-1 in the second, the sort of passage that has undone players returning from long lay-offs, but Kartal did not drift. She worked her way back to 5-5, broke there, and served out the biggest win of her comeback at the first opportunity.
It was her sixth career victory over a top-20 opponent and her most significant since she beat Mirra Andreeva, then world No 5, in Beijing last year. It was also a first meeting with Bencic.
“Super high level from me right from the start,” Kartal said. “I think I saw snippets from my tennis six months ago. I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn’t know how quickly.”
She was careful not to oversell it. “I did a lot of things right today, but I still think there’s a long way to go,” she added. “I can produce the level, but can I sustain it? I think that’s going to be the hardest challenge.”
The context makes the result sharper. Kartal has not played a full season since climbing to a career-high 44th in the wake of her run to the Wimbledon fourth round in 2025. The back injury that stopped her in March cost her six months and more than 120 ranking places. She returned last month in Beijing, beating Andrea Lazaro Garcia and then 31st seed Wang Xinyu, and arrived in Wuhan with four wins from five matches. She beat Anhelina Kalinina 7-5, 6-3 in the first round here on Monday, and now has back-to-back third rounds at WTA 1000 level.
Sabalenka’s drought deepens in her best city
Wuhan has been Sabalenka’s safest ground anywhere on tour. She won the title in 2018, 2019 and 2024, and took a 20-match unbeaten record at the event into last year’s semi-finals before Jessica Pegula finally ended it. This time she lasted one match.
Sabalenka played with heavy strapping on her right knee and took a medical timeout in the third set after falling a break behind. She still created the chances to win — nine match points saved tells its own story — but Li, a 26-year-old with no title above WTA 250 level, held her nerve in the tie-break.
The defeat extends a strange year for a player whose results still look good on paper. Sabalenka is 46-9 for 2026 and reached both the Australian Open and US Open finals, losing the latter to Elena Rybakina. But she has not lifted a trophy since completing the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami in March — a run now stretching to 10 tournaments — and she slipped from world No 1 to No 2 along the way.
An open title and a ranking to rebuild
Sabalenka was not the only seed to fall. Second seed Pegula squandered three match points and lost 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-3 to Jelena Ostapenko in her first match in more than a month, while China Open champion Qinwen Zheng and finalist Mirra Andreeva had already withdrawn before play began.
Wuhan will therefore crown a first-time champion. The contenders who did survive:
- Iga Swiatek, the seventh seed, who beat Magdalena Frech 6-2, 6-1
- Elina Svitolina, past Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
- Karolina Muchova, who came through two tie-breaks against Caty McNally
- Ostapenko, Li and Leylah Fernandez, none of whom has won a WTA 1000 title
With WTA Finals places still being decided, the points on offer matter more than usual. For Kartal, the maths is simpler: she is already guaranteed to climb around 40 places, and a third-round meeting with 15th seed Jasmine Paolini offers the chance to turn a promising month into a season-defining one. The level, she insists, was never really the question. Holding it for a fortnight is.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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