Chwalinska beats injured Swiatek to set up Wuhan final against Kartal

Iga Swiatek’s run in Wuhan ended on Saturday with her left thigh strapped and her movement gone. Her fellow Pole Maja Chwalinska took full advantage, saving two set points in the opener and winning their semi-final 7-5, 6-1 to reach her first WTA 1000 final.

She will play Britain’s Sonay Kartal on Sunday. Kartal, who missed six months with a back injury earlier this year, saved herself twice from 4-1 down to beat Jelena Ostapenko 7-6, 7-6. Neither finalist has won a title at this level before.

Swiatek plays through the pain

Swiatek was in control early, leading 5-3 and holding two set points in the ninth game. Chwalinska saved both and moved ahead 6-5, and Swiatek called for a medical timeout. When she came back, she was clearly struggling to push off and chase returns. Chwalinska won 10 of the last 11 games.

Swiatek said afterwards that the problem had been with her all week. “From the beginning of the tournament, I kind of felt pain in my quad,” she said. She had thought about pulling out after her first-round match, but refused to retire in the semi-final. “I didn’t want to honestly retire because wanted Maja to win it normally,” she said.

The two have known each other since they were 10 and played junior doubles together, but this was their first competitive meeting in a decade. For Chwalinska, the French Open runner-up this year, it was her first win over a top-10 player.

“She is a great champion, living legend, she won everything,” Chwalinska said of Swiatek. “The fact that I actually won against her is actually crazy for me.”

Kartal rides the wave

The first semi-final was a contest of styles. Ostapenko, the former French Open champion, went for everything and led 4-1 in both sets, but her 41 unforced errors kept letting Kartal back in. She served two double faults in a row when serving for the first set, and Kartal took both tiebreaks, 11-9 and 7-5.

“At times she’s unplayable and sometimes you just have to ride the wave,” said Kartal, 24. “Mentally, I think this is one of the best performances I’ve had in my career.”

Kartal fell to No 170 in the rankings during her time out and only returned in September. On her way to the final she has beaten Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini and Elina Svitolina. Victory on Sunday would make her one of the lowest-ranked WTA 1000 champions.

What it means beyond Wuhan

Swiatek’s defeat had one immediate consequence elsewhere. It confirmed Svitolina, the world No 6, as the seventh qualifier for the season-ending WTA Finals, with one place left to fill.

Sunday’s final will be the first career meeting between Kartal and Chwalinska.