Chwalinska Beats Kartal in Wuhan for First Career Title
Chwalinska comes back from a set and a break down and wins the last five games
Maja Chwalinska of Poland won the first title of her career at the Wuhan Open, recovering from a lost first set and a 2–0 deficit in the second to beat Sonay Kartal of Britain 2–6, 6–4, 6–2.
The final on October 18 lasted 2 hours 43 minutes. Chwalinska won the last five games and saved three break points while serving for the match.
Chwalinska, 25, was the French Open runner-up this season. Only three other players since 2009 won their first tour-level title at a WTA 1000 event, and she is the third Polish woman to win at that level, after Agnieszka Radwanska and Iga Swiatek, whom she beat in the semifinals. Her ranking is projected to go from 22nd to a career-high 11th.
Kartal came into the week ranked 170th after six months out with a back injury. She is projected to rise to 50th, which would make her the top-ranked British woman for the first time.
Maja Chwalinska of Poland beat Sonay Kartal of Britain 2–6, 6–4, 6–2 in the Wuhan Open final for the first title of her career, coming back from a set and a break down.
The final was played on October 18 and lasted 2 hours 43 minutes. It was the first meeting between the two and the first Wuhan final between two players ranked outside the top 20. Chwalinska, the 16th seed, receives $665,000 and 1,000 ranking points; Kartal receives $385,001 and 650 points.
Kartal won the first set with three breaks of serve. In the second, she saved three break points in the first game and broke for 2–0, then saved four more break points in her next service game before Chwalinska broke back on her fifth chance. Chwalinska broke for 3–2 in the third set with a drop shot followed by a lob, won the last five games and saved three break points while serving for the match. It ended on her third match point, when Kartal hit a forehand long.
"It means a lot. It tastes very sweet, I [must] admit," Chwalinska said. "I feel like I still don't realize that I won. So I feel like I just need a few days. But it feels special because after the French Open it was obviously amazing, but then I had some tough moments."
"I feel like my energy level was very low at the beginning," she said. "But also, Sonay played amazing. I think she didn't let me play my best tennis, so all credit to her for not letting me play [well]. I feel like I gradually started to play much better, much more aggressive, I would say."
Chwalinska, 25 and left-handed, reached the French Open final this season as a qualifier. She beat Mayar Sherif, Marie Bouzkova, Iva Jovic, Maria Sakkari and Swiatek in Wuhan, her fourth main draw at a WTA 1000 event and the first in which she reached the round of 16. She has won 17 tour-level matches this season after four in her career before it. She is the fourth player since 2009 whose first tour-level title came at a WTA 1000 event, after Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu and Victoria Mboko, and the third Polish woman to win at that level, after Agnieszka Radwanska and Iga Swiatek. She is projected to rise from 22nd to a career-high 11th.
"I started the season, I think, ranked like 140 and my goal was to be Top 100 this year," she said.
Kartal, 24, entered the tournament using a protected ranking, which is available to players who have been out injured for six months or more. She had missed six months with a back injury after Indian Wells in March. Ranked 170th, she was the lowest-ranked WTA 1000 finalist since 2009, and she beat Anhelina Kalinina, Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini, Elina Svitolina and Jelena Ostapenko on the way. She was trying to become the first British woman to win a WTA 1000 title since Johanna Konta in Miami in 2017. She is projected to climb to 50th and become the top-ranked British woman for the first time. Her only tour title came in Monastir, Tunisia, in 2024.
"I had my chances and I think that's maybe where the rust of six months comes in. But overall I'm very happy with my performance," Kartal said. "Obviously not the result I wanted, and it's going to sting for a while, but for me the positives of this week outweigh that result."