Six months ago, Sonay Kartal could not even brush her teeth without “being in agony”. This week, the 24-year-old became British No. 1 after reaching the biggest final of her career at the Wuhan Open — just her third tournament back from a long-term back injury.
Sonay Kartal (Credits: BBC Sport)
It is one of the most remarkable comeback stories in recent tennis memory, and the numbers behind it are almost hard to believe: ten matches into her return, Kartal has already climbed above her pre-injury world ranking of 54 and is closing in on a career-high of 44.
A Stress Fracture That Nearly Ended Everything
Kartal’s ordeal began at Indian Wells in March, where a stress fracture in her back stopped her season dead. The early months were brutal — she spent the first month largely in bed at home, sometimes unable to walk without pain.
“In the first month or so, I was at home in bed — sometimes I had good days but there were also bad days where I wasn’t really able to walk without some form of pain,” Kartal said. “It was a slow process and it makes you think you do take every day things for granted a bit.”
The pain eventually subsided, but the road back required patience and hard work. Kartal did not make her competitive return until under a month ago, and her only modest goal for the Asian swing was to defend last year’s points and make good use of the WTA’s protected injury ranking — granted to players sidelined for six months or more.
A Wuhan Fairytale Nobody Predicted
Instead of simply defending points, Kartal went on a stunning run at the WTA 1000 Wuhan Open — an event that sits just below the Grand Slams and draws the strongest fields on the women’s tour. She knocked out a series of pedigree opponents, including top-10 players and former Grand Slam champions, before finally running out of steam against this year’s French Open runner-up Maja Chwalinska in the final.
Losing the final from a set and break up will sting, but the bigger picture is extraordinary. Kartal became the first British player to reach a WTA 1000 final since Johanna Konta in 2019, and it stands as the best result by a British woman since Emma Raducanu’s US Open title in 2021.
The 650 ranking points from the runner-up finish mean Kartal no longer needs to rely on her protected ranking — a huge boost for 2027, giving her full freedom to choose her schedule, including direct entry into the Australian Open.
A Bright Spot For British Tennis
Kartal’s re-emergence comes at a badly needed moment. With her absent from three of the four majors, no British woman went past the second round of a Grand Slam in 2026. Alongside Arthur Fery’s run to the Wimbledon semi-finals in the summer, her Wuhan heroics give British tennis fans something real to celebrate.
“My goal on the Asian swing was just to try to defend those points I had from last year and make the use of the protected ranking worthwhile,” Kartal said. “I think I’ve gone above and beyond that. The goal has been achieved this week and I’m in a good spot for the rest of the year and next year.”
Like Fery, Kartal is not blessed with the height and raw power of many tour leaders, but Wuhan proved she has enough damaging tools to anchor herself inside the top 50 — and perhaps far beyond.
Also Read: Wuhan Open Final: Sonay Kartal Falls to Maja Chwalinska but Will Become British No. 1 Anyway, Sonay Kartal Stuns Elina Svitolina to Reach First WTA 1000 Semi-Final at Wuhan Open
Source: BBC Sport — read the full story there.
