Photo via BBC Sport

Briton Kartal upsets Bencic at Wuhan Open

Sonay Kartal of Britain delivered a stunning upset at the Wuhan Open, defeating ninth seed Belinda Bencic in straight sets with scores of 6-0 and 7-5. The victory marks a strong return for Kartal, who had been sidelined for six months due to a stress fracture in her back—a setback that forced her to miss three of this year’s Grand Slams, including Wimbledon.

Before her injury, Kartal had shown promise, reaching the fourth round at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and defeating top-20 players like Emma Navarro and Madison Keys at the Indian Wells tournament earlier this year. Her recent form has been impressive, with four wins in five matches since her comeback, including a third-round appearance at the Beijing Open last week before her triumph over Bencic.

The win propels Kartal into a quarterfinal clash against either Italian Jasmine Paolini or Czech Nikola Bartunkova, while fellow Pole Iga Świątek also advanced, securing her 40th win of the season with a dominant performance over Magdalena Frech.

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