Chwalinska vs Kartal - 12:30 CET
Match news and form
Sonay Kartal played arguably her most epic match of the week against Jelena Ostapenko in the semi-finals. The world number 170 saved three set points in both the first and second sets to defeat the Latvian, 7-6, 7-6, and surge into her second career final and the first above the WTA 250 level.
Kartal has been upsetting players all week long, including dismissing ninth seed Belinda Bencic, 15th seed Jasmine Paolini, and fifth seed Elina Svitolina.
The Brit must not have expected such a result in Wuhan after missing seven months of play, spoiling an exceptionally strong start to the season.
Maja Chwalinska caused one of the biggest upsets of the week when she defeated Iga Swiatek, 7-5, 6-1, in the semi-finals, taking advantage of her compatriot's leg injury. This is a further illustration of her wildly rollercoaster season, which includes a runner-up finish at Roland Garros as a qualifier.
Chwalinska, ranked in the 140s at the start of the year, struggled to back up her Paris success and landed in Asia having won only one match in her last five tournaments. She reversed the course with a semi-final in Singapore and has now beaten Iva Jovic and Maria Sakkari for a WTA 1000 final.
Head-to-head
This will be their first meeting.
Stats & facts
Kartal defeated Rebecca Sramkova in the final to win her only WTA title at Monastir in 2024.
Kartal extends her winning streak against top-50 players to six matches. Nine of her last 11 top-50 wins have come in China.
Chwalinska lost to Mirra Andreeva in her first and only tour-level final at Roland Garros this summer.
Chwalinska has lost nine matches to outside-top-100 players this season across all levels.
Betting analysis
Neither player would have expected herself to reach the Wuhan final at the start of the campaign. This will be an open-ended final, with Kartal having slightly more self-belief compared to Chwalinska, who generally does not play her best tennis on hard courts.
Chwalinska in 2026
Best results: French Open (final)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Wuhan (final)
Record: 38-17
Record in the last 10 matches: 8-2
Record on outdoor hard courts: 9-7
Record against outside top-100 players: 21-9 (career 224-120)
Record in WTA 1000 finals: 0-0 (career 0-0)
Record in finals: 0-1 (career 0-1)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (qualifying), French Open (final), Wimbledon (round of 128), US Open (round of 128)
Chwalinska at the Wuhan Open
Career record: 5-0
Best result: final (2026)
Last year's result: did not play
Record in finals: 0-0
Preparation: Singapore (semi-finals), Beijing (round of 64)
Road to the final: Bye, Sherif (6-3, 6-2), Bouzkova (1-6, 6-1, 6-1), (10) Jovic (6-4, 6-1), Sakkari (6-0, 3-6, 7-5), (7) Swiatek (7-5, 6-1)
Kartal in 2026
Best results: Wuhan (final)
Best results on outdoor hard courts: Wuhan (final)
Record: 19-8
Record in the last 10 matches: 7-3
Record on outdoor hard courts: 19-7
Record against top-30 players: 4-3 (career 9-14)
Record in WTA 1000 finals: 0-0 (career 0-0)
Record in finals: 0-0 (career 1-0)
Grand Slams: Australian Open (round of 128), French Open (did not play), Wimbledon (did not play), US Open (did not play)
Kartal at the Wuhan Open
Career record: 5-0
Best result: final (2026)
Last year's result: did not play
Record in finals: 0-0
Preparation: Beijing (round of 32)
Road to the final: Kalinina (7-5, 6-3), (9) Bencic (6-0, 7-5), (15) Paolini (6-2, 6-0), (5) Svitolina (6-2, 2-6, 6-4), Ostapenko (7-6, 7-6)