Tennis
Sonay Kartal Beats Svitolina to Reach Wuhan Semifinals
The British player wins 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 and will face Jelena Ostapenko as her return from a back injury gathers momentum.
Sonay Kartal reached the Wuhan Open semifinals by beating fifth seed Elina Svitolina 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 on Friday. The British player broke serve in the final game to secure another substantial win during her return from a back injury.
Kartal, ranked No. 170, missed more than six months with a stress fracture earlier this year. The Associated Press reported that she has won six of eight matches since returning to the elite tour.
Her Wuhan run already included victories over Belinda Bencic and Jasmine Paolini. Svitolina’s defeat followed another quarterfinal exit at the China Open last week, where she lost to eventual champion Zheng Qinwen.
Kartal next faces Jelena Ostapenko, who defeated Diana Shnaider 7-6 (6), 6-1. The other semifinal will be an all-Polish meeting between Iga Swiatek and Maja Chwalinska. Kartal reached a career-high ranking of No. 44 last year, making her current position a reflection of the interruption to her season rather than the level of opponent she has beaten this week.
