Elina Svitolina loses to resurgent British player Sonay Kartal at Wuhan Open
Sonay Kartal of Britain returns the ball to Marie Bouzkova of Czech Republic during a quarterfinal match for the Billie Jean King Cup held in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 206. Credit: AP/Andy Wong
WUHAN, China — Fifth-seeded Elina Svitolina is out of the Wuhan Open after losing 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to resurgent British player Sonay Kartal in the quarterfinals Friday.
The No. 170-ranked Kartal, who missed more than six months with a stress fracture in her back earlier this year, has won six of her eight matches since returning to the elite tour.
She beat two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini to reach the quarterfinals in Wuhan after defeating ninth-seeded Belinda Bencic, the Tokyo Olympics gold medalist, in the second round.
Kartal, who broke Svitolina's serve in the last game, reached a career-high No. 44 ranking in July of last year. Svitolina lost in the quarterfinals at the China Open last week to eventual champion Zheng Qinwen.
Kartal advanced to a semifinal against 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who beat 11th-seeded Diana Shnaider 7-6 (6), 6-1.
Seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek beat American Ann Li 6-4, 6-1.
There was no upset for Li on this occasion after her surprise win against top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the second round, with six-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek sealing victory in 1 hour 33 minutes.
Elina Svitolina, of Ukraine, leaves the court after losing against Zheng Qinwen, of China, during the quarterfinals of the women's singles match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. Credit: AP/Achmad Ibrahim
Swiatek faces Maja Chwalinska in the semifinals.
Chwalinska beat Maria Sakkari 6-0, 3-6, 7-5.
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