Maja Chwalinska beats Sonay Kartal in Wuhan final for first WTA Tour title

Maja Chwalinska won her first WTA Tour title in Wuhan, China, on Sunday, 18 October 2026, beating Sonay Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the Wuhan Open final. The win gave the Polish French Open runner-up a WTA 1000 trophy and ended Kartal’s bid for the biggest title of her career.

Chwalinska was seeded 16th; Kartal was unseeded. Both were playing their first WTA 1000 final, according to the Associated Press. Kartal took the opening set, but Chwalinska broke for a 4-3 lead in the second and completed the comeback in two hours and 43 minutes.

Chwalinska’s route to the Wuhan title

Chwalinska had reached the French Open final as a qualifier earlier this season. At Wuhan, she beat fellow Pole Iga Swiatek, a six-time major winner, in the semifinals before securing her first tour title. AP reported that the victory earned Chwalinska 1,000 ranking points and $665,000 in prize money, and was expected to take her to 11th in the rankings.

Kartal’s run after a back injury

Kartal entered Wuhan ranked 170th and reached the final by beating former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the semifinals. The Press Association reported that she was the lowest-ranked player to reach a final at this level since the format began in 2009. She had been seeking to join Johanna Konta, who won the Miami Open in 2017, as a British WTA 1000 champion.

The run followed Kartal’s return from six months out with a back injury. The Press Association said she had resumed competition about two weeks before Wuhan, while BBC Sport described Wuhan as her third event back. Her only previous tour title came at an event in Tunisia in 2024. Kartal’s comeback had already taken her to the Wuhan final after her semifinal win over Ostapenko.