Briton Kartal upsets Bencic at Wuhan Open
Sonay Kartal upset ninth seed Belinda Bencic at the Wuhan Open, winning 6-0 7-5 to reach the next round. The result marks a strong return for the British player after a six-month absence and shows she can again challenge top-ranked opponents.
Kartal, 24, is ranked 170th after a back stress fracture sidelined her from March and caused her to miss three Grand Slams. She has won four of five matches since returning, including reaching the third round in Beijing; next she will play Jasmine Paolini or Nikola Bartunkova for a quarter-final place. Bencic is ranked 12th, making this the second-highest-ranked opponent Kartal has beaten.
- Kartal beat world number 12 Belinda Bencic in Wuhan.
- The Briton won 6-0 7-5 after returning from a back injury.
- She has won four of five matches since her comeback.
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The Wuhan Open is a professional tennis tournament in China, where players compete in a knockout draw: a loss ends a player’s run. Rankings reflect results over time, so a player ranked outside the top 100 can face opponents much higher up the list.
Sonay Kartal is a British player who has been returning to competition after a back stress fracture kept her out for six months. Belinda Bencic is a Swiss player ranked among the world’s top dozen. Their match is notable because it brought Kartal up against a much higher-ranked opponent as she works her way back into the tour.