French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska staged a strong comeback to beat Sonay Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and win her maiden WTA Tour title at the Wuhan Open on Sunday. Chwalinska is just the fourth player since 2009 to win her first title on tour at the WTA 1000 level, joining Naomi Osaka (Indian Wells 2018), Bianca Andreescu (Indian Wells 2019) and Victoria Mboko (Montreal 2025).
World No. 170 Kartal, the lowest-ranked finalist in a WTA 1000 tournament, dominated the opening set with her powerful shots as Chwalinska struggled to find her range with several drop shots and slices missing the court. The Briton, who was competing in her third event since returning from a six-month absence due to a back injury, moved a break ahead in the second set. However, the 16th seed, who defeated her childhood friend Iga Swiatek in the semi-final, gradually found her rhythm. Kartal faced 13 break points in a gruelling set, losing her serve three times as Chwalinska forced a decider.
The left-hander combined a drop shot with a lob to break Kartal's serve for a 3-2 lead in the deciding set and then saved three break points while serving for the match to defeat Kartal in two hours and 43 minutes and lift the trophy. The victory is set to lift Chwalinska to a career-high No. 11 in the WTA rankings, having started the week at No. 22. Kartal is also projected to climb 120 places from No. 170 to No. 50.
"I'm for sure very grateful for this place now. I started the season, I think, ranked like 140 and my goal was to be Top 100 this year. I think I did a pretty good job. And I'm very grateful for that.
"But I feel like there's so much more to improve in my game and in myself. So that keeps me working," Chwalinska said after winning the title.
Chwalinska is just the third Polish player to win a WTA 1000 title, after Agnieszka Radwanska and Swiatek. She is also the first left-hander to win a WTA 1000 title since Petra Kvitova won in Miami in 2023.
(With Inputs from Reuters, WTA)
