Kartal reaches first WTA 1000 semifinal in Wuhan

Sonay Kartal beat Elina Svitolina 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 on October 16 to reach her first WTA 1000 semifinal, extending an impressive run at the Wuhan Open after six months away from competition because of a back injury. The 24-year-old British player took the opening set before Svitolina, ranked sixth in the world, levelled the match. Kartal then won the deciding set to secure a place in the last four. It is her first semifinal at a WTA 1000 tournament, one of the tour’s highest-level events outside the Grand Slams. The result followed Kartal’s 6-2, 6-0 victory over 15th seed Jasmine Paolini on October 15. That win sent her into the Wuhan quarterfinals and matched her previous best at WTA 1000 level, achieved at the China Open in Beijing last season. Kartal had also beaten Anhelina Kalinina and ninth seed Belinda Bencic earlier in Wuhan. Kartal returned to competition after a six-month absence related to a stress fracture in her back, according to reports. Her time away affected her ranking, and she missed three of the four Grand Slam tournaments this season. The Wuhan event is among her early tournaments since returning. After the Svitolina match, Kartal said she was proud of the...