Maja Chwalinska claimed her maiden WTA Tour title with a comeback victory over Sonay Kartal in the 2026 Wuhan Open final
In a final matchup no one would have predicted, world No 22 Chwalinska prevailed 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 against 170th-ranked Kartal on Sunday.
Both players were competing in their maiden WTA 1000 final, and Chwalinska’s victory saw her claim her first-ever WTA Tour title.
Chwalinska is just the fourth player to win their maiden career title at WTA 1000 level after Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu and Victoria Mboko.
The 25-year-old Polish star’s only previous final came at this year’s French Open, where she made a remarkable run as a qualifier.
In what was the first meeting between the pair, Kartal led 6-2, 2-0 after she broke in four of Chwalinska’s first five service games.
From that point, Chwalinska lost serve just once more and broke the 24-year-old Brit five times to complete an impressive turnaround.
Serving at 5-2 in the third set, Chwalinska converted on her third championship point after saving three break points.
Chwalinska defeated Mayar Sherif, Marie Bouzkova, Iva Jovic, Maria Sakkari and Iga Swiatek en route to the final in Wuhan.
Kartal earned wins against Anhelina Kalinina, Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini, Elina Svitolina and Jelena Ostapenko during her run.
