The 2026 WTA 1000 season wrapped up last week with the final tournament at the Dongfeng • Voyah Wuhan Open. Maja Chwalinska, who was a finalist at Roland Garros, secured her first WTA title, defeating Sonay Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 after coming back from a set and 2-0 down. The final lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes, making it the second-longest WTA 1000 final of the year, after Elina Svitolina's 2-hour, 49-minute victory over Coco Gauff in Rome.

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Chwalinska's win places her among a notable group, becoming the fourth player in the WTA 1000 era to claim her first career title at this level, alongside Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu, and Victoria Mboko. She made history by being the third player since 1990 to reach her first two finals at Grand Slam or WTA 1000/Tier I events, joining Anna Kournikova and Amélie Mauresmo.

Turning 25 just before the tournament, Chwalinska rose 11 spots to No. 11 in the rankings, marking her Top 20 debut after starting the year at No. 146. She is now the fourth Polish player to break into the Top 20, following Agnieszka Radwanska, Iga Swiatek, and Magda Linette.

Kartal's performance in Wuhan was also remarkable. After suffering a back injury in March that sidelined her for six months, she returned to action at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Entering Wuhan ranked No. 170, she reached the final by scoring her sixth Top 20 win against Belinda Bencic and her second career Top 10 win over Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals. Kartal made history as the lowest-ranked WTA 1000 finalist (excluding unranked players).

Following her run to the final, Kartal made a significant leap in the rankings, moving up 121 places to No. 49, just five spots shy of her career high of No. 44 achieved in July 2025.

In other ranking news, Jelena Ostapenko returned to the Top 30 after reaching the semifinals in Wuhan, climbing 10 places to No. 24. Ann Li, having achieved a third career Top 10 win, moved to a new career high of No. 25.

Seventeen-year-old Mia Pohankova, utilizing a wild card, reached the last 16 and rose from No. 202 to No. 145 after victories over two Top 100 players. Guo Hanyu, the reigning Wimbledon doubles champion, improved her ranking by 51 places to No. 189 after a successful run in Wuhan.

The week also saw three WTA 125 tournaments. Bianca Andreescu won her first title since 2019 in Rovereto, Italy, defeating Dominika Salkova and moving up 36 spots to No. 132. Clara Burel claimed her second consecutive WTA 125 title in Lisbon, advancing to No. 158.

Ariana Geerlings won her first WTA 125 event in Mallorca, jumping 204 places to No. 301. Meanwhile, notable rankings movements include Ashlyn Krueger moving to No. 55, Sloane Stephens rising to No. 118 after winning the Edmond W100, and multiple players achieving significant jumps in their rankings after successful tournament performances.