Wuhan: Chwalińska stops injured Świątek – final against world No. 170 Kartal

Maja Chwalińska won the historic all-Polish semi-final in Wuhan. The 25-year-old beat her former doubles partner Iga Świątek 7-5, 6-1 in 2 hours 8 minutes on Saturday. Świątek led 5-3 in the first set and Chwalińska saved two set points, after which the former world No. 1 received treatment on her left thigh. Chwalińska won ten of the next eleven games. "From the beginning of the tournament, I kind of felt pain in my quad," Świątek said, according to the WTA. Her chances of reaching the WTA Finals are now slim.

"Obviously Iga wasn't 100 per cent today, so I wish her all the best, of course," Chwalińska said, according to AFP. For the Pole, who reached the French Open final as a qualifier in June, it is a first win over a top-10 player and a first WTA 1000 final.

There she faces Britain's Sonay Kartal, who beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-6 (11-9), 7-6 (7-5). Ranked 170th, Kartal is the lowest-ranked finalist at a WTA 1000 event; she is playing only her second tournament after a spinal stress fracture kept her out from March to September. "Mentally I think this is one of the best performances I've had in my career," the 24-year-old said. A title would lift her to No. 36, according to Tennis Uptodate. It is the pair's first tour-level meeting.