Briton Kartal upsets Bencic at Wuhan Open

Key points

• Sonay Kartal beat ninth seed Belinda Bencic 6-0 7-5 at the Wuhan Open.
• Kartal, ranked 170th, returned after a six-month injury absence.
• Iga Swiatek also advanced, earning her 40th win of the season.

Britain's Sonay Kartal upset ninth seed Belinda Bencic 6-0 7-5 at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday. The victory over the Swiss world number 12 was the second biggest win of Kartal's career by ranking.

Kartal, 24, reached a career-high ranking of 44 last year but has slipped to 170th after a six-month injury absence. She returned to action for Great Britain at last month's Billie Jean King Cup Finals and reached the third round at the Beijing Open last week before beating Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina in her opening match in Wuhan.

Kartal on her recovery

Kartal said she trusted she would get her level back but did not know how quickly. "I did a lot of things right today, but I still think there's a long way to go," she said.

She added that sustaining her level would be the hardest challenge and that she was happy to be back and feeling good.

I trusted that I would be able to get my level back, I just didn't know how quickly.

— Sonay Kartal

Next opponent and injury history

Kartal will face Italian 15th seed Jasmine Paolini or 20-year-old Czech Nikola Bartunkova for a quarter-final place.

Kartal suffered a stress fracture in her back in March, missing three of this year's four Grand Slams, including Wimbledon. Before the injury, she beat top-20 Americans Emma Navarro and Madison Keys at Indian Wells before retiring against Elena Rybakina in the third round with the back issue. She has now won four of her five matches on her return to the WTA Tour.

Swiatek also progresses

Former world number one Iga Swiatek also advanced on Wednesday, recording her 40th win of the season with a 6-2 6-1 victory over fellow Pole Magdalena Frech.