Wuhan Open Final: Chwalinska Rallies Past Kartal for Maiden WTA Title After Stunning Swiatek
WUHAN — Poland's Maja Chwalinska won the first title of her career on Sunday, October 18, rallying from a set and a break down to beat Britain's Sonay Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the Wuhan Open final — and her maiden crown came at WTA 1000 level.
The final lasted two hours and 43 minutes. Kartal, ranked No. 170 and the lowest-ranked finalist in WTA 1000 history, dominated the first set with powerful forehands. But Chwalinska, fresh off a semifinal win over childhood friend and compatriot Iga Swiatek, dragged the match into long rallies, broke three times in the second set and won four straight games to close out the decider.
The title lifts Chwalinska to a career-high No. 11 in the rankings and earns her about $665,000; she is the fourth woman since 2009 to make a WTA 1000 event her first career title. Kartal, who missed more than six months this year with a stress fracture in her back and returned only last month, will break into the Top 40. (GSM, from Reuters and other reports)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：奇瓦利尼斯卡（资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 2.0。Photo: Maja Chwalinska (file photo). Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.
