WUHAN: Maja Chwalinska pulled off an impressive comeback to defeat Britain’s Sonay Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and claim the first tour-level title of her career at the Wuhan Open on Sunday.
The Polish 16th seed trailed by a set and a break before she turned things around to become just the fourth player to win her maiden tour-level title at a WTA 1000 event.
She joins Naomi Osaka (2018 Indian Wells), Bianca Andreescu (2019 Indian Wells) and Victoria Mboko (2025 Montreal) in that exclusive club.
The 25-year-old Chwalinska started the year ranked 146 in the world and provided one of the biggest surprises of the season when she reached the French Open final as a qualifier in June.
“(This title) tastes very sweet. I feel like I still don’t realise that I won,” Chwalinska said in the post-match press conference.
“But it feels special, because after French Open, it was obviously amazing, but then I had some tough moments. I feel like people also were very rough towards me. And it took a toll on me as well.
“I’m just a human. But I kept working really hard and I’m just very grateful that my work paid off.” The talented lefty will now rise to a career-high No.11 in the world, making her top-20 debut when the new rankings are released on Monday.
“I feel like my energy level was very low at the beginning, but also Sonay played amazing,” added Chwalinska.
“Gradually I started to play much better and much more aggressive. Also, the depth on my shots improved.
“I feel what I’m proud of is the fighting spirit that I had. I just wanted to fight for every single ball and hoped that things would click at some point.” Kartal, who was contesting her second tour event back from a six-month hiatus due to a spinal stress fracture, entered Wuhan ranked 170 in the world but will return to the top 50 after reaching the first WTA 1000 final of her career.
- ‘Head high’ - The first set was one-way traffic, with Kartal dictating play with heavy hitting from the baseline and Chwalinska scrambling to defend from all corners of the court.
It took three breaks of serve and 45 minutes to give Kartal a one-set lead and send her closer to the biggest title of her career.
Chwalinska found her legs in the second set and began to put pressure on the Kartal serve by employing the methods that helped her knock out her compatriot Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals: extending the rallies, running down every ball, and mixing things up with her smooth touch.
Despite saving 10 out of 13 break points and holding a 2-0 advantage early in the frame, Kartal surrendered the second set after 71 minutes.
Kartal ran out of steam in the decider as Chwalinska broke twice to secure the trophy on her third championship point after a gruelling two hours and 43 minutes.
“It was a very physical battle and I think I had my chances and I think that’s maybe where the rust of six months off comes in,” said Kartal.
“But overall I’m very happy with my performance. Obviously not the result I wanted and it’s going to sting for a little while but I think for me the positives this week outweigh that result today. So yeah I’m leaving here head out high and in a good spot overall.”
Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2026
