Sonay Kartal wins on WTA return at China Open

Sonay Kartal beat Andrea Lazaro Garcia in Beijing at the China Open on Thursday, claiming victory on her return to the WTA Tour after almost six months away from competition.

The 24-year-old injured her lower back at Indian Wells in March and only resumed competitive tennis at the Billie Jean King Cup on 22 September. On that comeback last week she narrowly lost to Czech world number 26 Marie Bouzkova.

Against the Spanish qualifier in Beijing, Kartal defeated Andrea Lazaro Garcia 6-2 6-3. She broke Lazaro Garcia's serve five times, Lazaro Garcia committed four double faults, and Kartal landed 69% of her first serves.

Fellow British players Harriet Dart and Cameron Norrie were scheduled to play later on Thursday. Earlier in Asia, British number one Arthur Fery was beaten 6-4 3-6 6-4 by Portuguese lucky loser Jaime Faria in the Japan Open first round.

Denmark's Holger Rune lost 6-3 6-1 to France's Kyrian Jacquet in Tokyo; it was his first ATP Tour appearance for almost a year. The former world number four tore his Achilles tendon in October 2025 and has since dropped out of the top 100.

Kartal, who is ranked world number 129, will face Chinese 31st seed Wang Xinyu next as she bids to work her way back up the world rankings.