Britain’s Sonay Kartal upset ninth seed Belinda Bencic as she continued to build post-injury momentum at the Wuhan Open.
Kartal reached a career-high ranking of 44 last year but has slipped to 170th in the world after a six-month injury absence.
Having returned to action for Great Britain at last month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals, the 24-year-old reached the third round at the Beijing Open last week before beating Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina in her opening match in Wuhan.
An impressive 6-0 7-5 victory over Swiss world number 12 Bencic sets up a match with Italian 15th seed Jasmine Paolini or 20-year-old Czech Nikola Bartunkova for a quarter-final place.
Find Your Qualified Amazon Prime Trial
Select your category below to unlock your specific free trial and discounted membership rate:
Prime for Young Adults
Included with Prime for Young Adults:
- Fast, Free Delivery: Unlimited Same-Day, One-Day, and Two-Day Delivery on millions of items.
- Unlimited Streaming: Prime Video with award-winning Originals, movies, and live sports.
- $0 Food Delivery Fees: Free Grubhub+ membership included (save ~$120/year).
Amazon Prime (Standard)
Included with Amazon Prime:
- Fast, Free Delivery: Unlimited Same-Day, One-Day, and Two-Day shipping options.
- Instant Entertainment: Award-winning TV shows, movies, music, and photo storage.
- Full Access to Alexa+: AI assistant for entertainment, deals, and smart home tracking.
Amazon Prime Access
- Full Prime Benefits: Free shipping, Prime Video, and exclusive shopping deals.
- No Long-Term Commitment: Cancel or pause membership anytime.
Former world number one Iga Swiatek also progressed, recording her 40th win of the season with a 6-2 6-1 victory over fellow Pole Magdalena Frech.
Kartal suffered a stress fracture in her back in March, which meant she missed three of this year’s four Grand Slams – including Wimbledon.
The Briton, who reached the fourth round at her home slam last year, was in good form before that enforced break.
That included victories over American top-20 seeds Emma Navarro and Madison Keys at Indian Wells, before she retired against Elena Rybakina in the third round with the back issue.
Kartal has made a positive return, beating Chinese 31st seed Wang Xinyu as she reached the third round in Beijing – and has now won four of her five matches on her return to the WTA Tour.