# Sonay Kartal becomes British number one after back injury recovery

> The 24-year-old reached the Wuhan Open final in just her third tournament back, climbing from 170th to 49th in the rankings.
- Title: Sonay Kartal becomes British number one after back injury…
- Summary: The 24-year-old reached the Wuhan Open final in just her third tournament back, climbing from 170th to 49th in the rankings. Sonay Kartal became British…
- Keywords: sonay kartal, tennis, wuhan open, british tennis, injury recovery, wta rankings, sports, Sonay, Kartal, becomes, British, number
- Source: BBC Sport — https://bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/articles/c68xz5lvnz0ro
- Published: 2026-10-19T05:20:44.913+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: sonay kartal, tennis, wuhan open, british tennis, injury recovery, wta rankings, sports
## Six months of pain and recovery
Sonay Kartal suffered a stress fracture in her back at Indian Wells in March. Six months ago she could not stand up and brush her teeth without being in agony.

> In the first month or so, I was at home in bed - sometimes I had good days but there were also bad days where I wasn't really able to walk without some form of pain.
## Return to competition after months away
Kartal did not make her return to competitive action until little under a month ago. She used a protected injury ranking to compete in tournaments after being out for six months.
## Wuhan Open final in third tournament back
On Monday, Kartal became the new British number one after reaching the biggest final of her career at the Wuhan Open, a WTA one thousand event in just her third tournament back.
## Defeated by French Open runner-up
Kartal knocked out current top-ten players and former Grand Slam champions before losing to Maja Chwalinska, this year's French Open runner-up, in the final from a set and break up.
## Ranking rockets from 170th to 49th
Earning six hundred fifty points as runner-up saw Kartal's ranking rocket from one hundred seventieth to forty-ninth, closing in on her career-high of forty-fourth achieved in July twenty twenty-five.
## No longer needs protected ranking
Regaining her ranking just ten matches into her comeback means Kartal will no longer need a protected ranking to enter tournaments including the Australian Open, giving her greater choice over when to play.
## Best British result since Raducanu's US Open
Kartal became the first British player to reach a WTA one thousand final since Johanna Konta in twenty nineteen, recording the best result by a British woman since Emma Raducanu won the US Open in…
## Fitness and team support crucial going forward
Kartal says the stress fracture has completely healed. Her coach Ben Reeves, fitness coach Ian Aylward and physio Dani Gillanders worked intensively during rehabilitation to get her back to competition.

> If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here. It makes it even better that the three people who helped me get back to fitness and fixed my back are with me.
## Key takeaway

Sonay Kartal became British number one after reaching the Wuhan Open final in her third tournament back from a six-month back injury, rising from 170th to 49th in the world rankings.