Britain's Sonay Kartal says making her maiden WTA 1000 final at the Wuhan Open is a "dream come true," adding that the mental side of sport is "one of my strongest assets." Kartal became only the second British woman, after Johanna Konta (Beijing 2016, Miami 2017, Rome 2019), to reach a WTA 1000 final with a stunning 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5) victory over Jelena Ostapenko. The 24-year-old, playing in only her third tournament since returning from a back injury, saved multiple set points to punish Ostapenko, despite the Latvian hitting an astonishing 50 winners in the match. Kartal will take on Maja Chwalinska in Sunday's final, live on Sky Sports Tennis from 11.30am, after the French Open finalist upset fellow Pole and former world No 1 Iga Swiatek 7-5 6-1.
"Today was a dream come true," Kartal told media. "I've been shooting to get this far in one of these events for a very long time and to be able to do it this fast after so long out, is special. "I think for me to have had in my box today all the people that got me feeling fit and ready to go and injury-free, it's a special moment for me and a special moment for the rest of my team." Currently 170th in the WTA rankings, Kartal - the lowest-ranked player to reach the final in Wuhan - will break inside the top 50 and become the new British No 1 Since the format's introduction in 1990, Kartal has become just the second player to defeat five former finalists en route to a WTA-1000 final, after Naomi Osaka in Montreal in 2005.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Her victory over Ostapenko extended a remarkable series of wins against former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic, ex-Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini, and world No 6 Elina Svitolina. "I think in every match, I've kind of been the underdog in this event," she added. "So I think the only pressure is kind of the pressure that I'm putting on myself.
"Regardless of how long I spent out, I still expect to offer a good performance and I'm very proud of what I've managed to achieve this week. "There's a lot of first-time things that I've managed to do. So with each match, I've grown in confidence, and the atmosphere today was amazing.
"It's a special feeling to walk out onto that court. The battle was a true battle, it's what I expected. And I'm very proud of just how I handled the occasion and everything that was going on in the match." After reaching the fourth round of Indian Wells in March, Kartal missed three of this year's four Grand Slams, including Wimbledon after six months out with a stress fracture in her back, returning last month at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Previously ranked as high as No 44 in the world, she showed positive signs by reaching the third round in Beijing earlier this month, but scarcely could have expected such a level of success so soon. "I think mentally, it is one of my biggest assets on the tennis court. I think I managed to stay very calm in a lot of situations that can probably get a little heated and you can get frustrated with.
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