Sonay Kartal: Brit breaks new ground by upsetting Elina Svitolina to reach Wuhan Open semi-finals
Sonay Kartal will play Jelena Ostapenko in last four of WTA 1000 event in China; watch WTA Wuhan Open and ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters live on Sky Sports
Friday 16 October 2026 09:04, UK
Britain's Sonay Kartal has stormed into the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open - a WTA 1000 event - in just her third tournament back from injury.
Kartal continued her incredible form by defeating fifth seed Elina Svitolina 6-2 2-6 6-4.
She will take on former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko on Saturday for a spot in Sunday's final.
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Speaking on-court, Kartal said: "Despite winning the first set pretty comfortably, I knew what a great fighter she [Svitolina] is, so I knew that until the very last point was played, I was never safe.
"Super proud of the determination I managed to show in that match, and I just think it was solid composure from me throughout."
She added: "I'm breaking new ground this week. I've never reached a semis of a WTA 1000 and like I've said I absolutely love playing here and playing on these courts. The atmosphere was amazing today."
After reaching the fourth round of Indian Wells in March, Kartal, 24, missed six months with a stress fracture in her back, returning last month at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Kartal, previously ranked as high as No 44 in the world, reached the third round in Beijing last week.
In Wuhan, she has swept past world No 48 Anhelina Kalinina, world No 12 Belinda Bencic, two-time Grand Slam singles finalist Jasmine Paolini, and now four-time major semi-finalist Svitolina.
Svitolina vs Kartal: Tale of the Tape
Currently 170th in the WTA rankings, Kartal will break back into the top 100 - she is at No 87 following her latest win - after becoming the lowest-ranked player to reach the semi-finals in Wuhan.
She missed three of this year's four Grand Slams, including Wimbledon.
Ostapenko came from 5-2 down in the first set to defeat 11tth seed Diana Shnaider 7-6 (8-6) 6-1.
The Latvian's 32 winners in the match took her tally to 138 for the week.
Who would want to play Kartal right now?
Speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, pundit Naomi Broady said: "I don't think Ostapenko is going to enjoy Kartal's game style with the amount of balls Sonay is going to put back into play.
"It will be interesting because when Svitolina upped her aggression in that match, Sonay wasn't all that comfortable in set two, but, of course, it's Ostapenko's base game, isn't it?
"But Sonay is going to be expecting that. She's seeing the ball big, so it's going to be all about keeping the ball out of the strike zone.
"Ostapenko has withdrawn from the doubles here - possibly struggling with the forearm injury - because we saw the physio coming out a couple of rounds ago against Jessica Pegula and she has had it taped since.
"She is not going to enjoy having someone like Kartal down the other end of the court. I think when the pressure is on Ostapenko's back she doesn't always perform her best."
Iga Swiatek is scheduled to play American Ann Li, who upset top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the second round.
The winner of that match will face either French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska or a resurgent Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals.
Stream tennis with no contract on NOW and through the Sky Sports App. Watch the WTA Wuhan Open and ATP Shanghai Masters live on Sky Sports until Sunday.
