Sports · Tennis · 1 hr ago
Sonay Kartal beats world No 12 Belinda Bencic at Wuhan Open
Sonay Kartal beat Belinda Bencic 6-0 7-5 in the second round of the Wuhan Open in China.
The 24-year-old British player defeated the world No 12 and former Olympic champion after taking the first set 6-0 and recovering from a 3-1 deficit in the second.
Kartal missed six months of the season with a stress fracture in her back and returned to competition last month.
She has won four of five matches since returning and reached the third round in Beijing last week.
The victory is her highest-ranked win since she beat then-world No 5 Mirra Andreeva last year.
Kartal is ranked 170th after her injury break but is set to rise by about 40 places.
She will next face Jasmine Paolini for a place in the quarter-finals.
Sonay Kartal beat ninth seed Belinda Bencic 6-0 7-5 in the second round of the Wuhan Open.
The win over world No 12 Bencic was the highest-ranked victory of Kartal’s career, according to the Independent.
Kartal, 24, is returning to competition after missing six months with a stress fracture in her back.
She returned at last month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals and reached the third round in Beijing last week.
Kartal will face either Jasmine Paolini or Nikola Bartunkova for a place in the quarter-finals.
- Who
- Sonay Kartal beat Belinda Bencic, the ninth seed and world No 12.
- What
- Kartal won 6-0 7-5 in the second round of the Wuhan Open.
- When
- 14 October 2026. The match was reported that day.
- Where
- Wuhan Open, in Wuhan, China.
- Why
- Kartal is continuing her return after a stress fracture in her back kept her out for six months.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Kartal suffered a stress fracture in her back.
Kartal returned to action at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Shenzhen.
Kartal reached the third round at the Beijing Open.
Kartal beat Bencic 6-0 7-5 in the second round of the Wuhan Open.
- Match score
- Kartal beat Bencic 6-0 7-5
- Bencic's seed
- Ninth
- Bencic's ranking
- World No 12
- Kartal's age
- 24
- Kartal's ranking
- 170th in the world
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What people are saying
I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn’t know how quickly.
I can produce the level, but can I sustain it – I think that’s going to be the hardest challenge.