Sonay Kartal has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open, defeating Jasmine Paolini in her latest match. Kartal began the season strongly, breaking into the world's top 50 and achieving two WTA quarter-final appearances, including notable wins against 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys and former world number eight Emma Navarro at Indian Wells. This success propelled her into a fourth-round match against world number one Elena Rybakina, where she unfortunately had to retire due to a back injury that turned out to be more serious than initially believed.
Read More
After hoping for a quick recovery, the pain from her injury made simple tasks agonizing, forcing Kartal to make difficult decisions, including missing Wimbledon. This was especially hard since she had reached the fourth round at her home Grand Slam in 2025. However, taking the time for a proper recovery proved prudent.
Her return to competition began a little over three weeks ago at the BJK Cup, where she suffered a narrow defeat. Since then, Kartal has gained momentum, winning two matches to reach the third round in Beijing during her return to the WTA Tour. "At the BJK Cup, the level I produced was much higher than I thought and I left super happy," Kartal stated. "Now I'm growing in confidence with every match I'm playing."