Sonay Kartal beat Jelena Ostapenko 7–6(9), 7–6(5) in Wuhan’s October 17 semifinal. The tiebreak scores were 11–9 and 7–5, two narrow finishes that carried her into a first WTA 1000 final.
She dropped one set across five matches, beating Anhelina Kalinina, Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini and Elina Svitolina before Ostapenko. The run followed her September return from six months out with a back injury.
After the semifinal, WTA reported a 13–0 record in 2026 tour-level main-draw matches when she won the first set. This was her second career tour final; she won the first in Monastir in 2024.
The October 18 final paired her with Maja Chwalinska for their first meeting, with a first WTA 1000 title at stake for both.
