Sonay Kartal shocks Belinda Bencic at Wuhan Open

Sonay Kartal defeated ninth seed Belinda Bencic 6-0 7-5 at the Wuhan Open on 14 October 2026, producing a surprise result in the tournament's early rounds.

Kartal, who reached a career-high ranking of 44 following Wimbledon last year, has fallen to 170th in the world after a six-month injury layoff. She returned to competition for Great Britain at last month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals and reached the third round at the Beijing Open last week before beating Anhelina Kalinina in her opening match in Wuhan.

The 6-0 7-5 victory came against the Swiss world number 12 and last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist, and it stands as the second biggest win of Kartal’s career by opponent ranking. The result extended Kartal’s positive momentum since her return to the WTA Tour.

“I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn't know how quickly,” Kartal said. “I did a lot of things right today but I still think there's a long way to go. "I can produce the level, but can I sustain it? I think that's going to be the hardest challenge. I'm happy to be back, I'm feeling good.”

Kartal’s recent absence followed a stress fracture in her back in March, which caused her to miss three of this year's four Grand Slams, including Wimbledon. Before that enforced break she had been in strong form, defeating Emma Navarro and Madison Keys at Indian Wells before retiring with the back problem in her third-round match against Elena Rybakina.

Since coming back she beat Chinese 31st seed Wang Xinyu to reach the third round in Beijing and has won four of her five matches on her return to the tour. Also progressing in Wuhan, former world number one Iga Swiatek recorded her 40th win of the season with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Magdalena Frech.

Kartal will play either 15th seed Jasmine Paolini or 20-year-old Nikola Bartunkova for a place in the quarter-finals.