Wuhan Open: Swiatek, Chwalinska, Kartal and Ostapenko Into Semi-Finals

Swiatek defeats Li

Iga Swiatek kept her WTA Finals hopes alive with a straight-sets win over Ann Li to set up an all-Polish semi-final against Maja Chwalinska, while Britain's Sonay Kartal continued her stunning comeback by upsetting Elina Svitolina to reach the last four in Wuhan.

Sonay Kartal beats Svitolina to become first Briton in Wuhan semi-finals...

Iga Swiatek boosted her hopes of qualifying for the WTA Finals with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Ann Li on Friday, booking an all-Polish semi-final at the Wuhan Open.

The six-time Grand Slam winner will now take on Maja Chwalinska with a place in the final at stake.

Swiatek is in the race for one of the last two spots in the eight-player field at next month's WTA Finals in Indian Wells, and she moved closer to her goal by reaching the last four in Wuhan for the first time in her career.

“For sure it's great that we have two Polish players in the semi-finals,” said Swiatek about her upcoming meeting with childhood friend Chwalinska.

“I think it means a lot to Polish tennis, so hopefully it’s going to be a nice match. I’m really happy for Maja; she for sure improved her game this year.”

Li's dream run ends against Swiatek

It was a standout week for 26-year-old Li, who shocked world No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the second round and claimed the 100th tour-level win of her career in the third round to make her first-ever WTA 1000 quarter-final.

The American, ranked 31st in the world, pushed Swiatek hard in the opening set. But despite hitting 21 unforced errors and having to save three break points, Swiatek held onto the early break advantage she earned and closed out the set in 56 minutes.

Key Match Statistics 

Swiatek then started the second set strongly and stayed in control throughout to reach her fourth WTA 1000 semi-final of the season.

Chwalinska And Kartal Keep Their Runs Going

French Open finalist Chwalinska advanced to her first WTA 1000 semi-final after a 6-0, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Greece's Maria Sakkari.

“I think it would be great for us and great for Polish tennis as well,” Chwalinska said about her Saturday clash with Swiatek.

SEMIFINALS BOUND ⭐️ Maja Chwalinska defeats Sakkari and advances into the semifinals in Wuhan! #dongfengvoyahwuhanopen https://t.co/2OAtke3sH0

— wta (@WTA) October 16, 2026

“It would be a great honour for me also because she's such a great champion, she's done almost everything in our sport.”

“It would be a great honour for me also because she's such a great champion, she's done almost everything in our sport.”

Earlier, Sonay Kartal secured the second top-10 victory of her career and sealed a return to the top 100 with a 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 win over Ukrainian world No.6 Elina Svitolina.

She became the first British player to reach the semi-finals in Wuhan, doing so after missing six months this season with a spinal stress fracture before making her comeback three weeks ago.

Ranked a career-high 44th in the world 15 months ago, Kartal had dropped to 170th in the rankings during her lengthy spell out injured.

The 24-year-old is now the lowest-ranked semi-finalist in Wuhan Open history.

Her strong comeback this week has seen her knock out three seeded players in a row, and she will next face 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko for a spot in the final.

Ostapenko reached her second Wuhan Open semi-final, her first since 2017, after a 7-6(6), 6-1 win over 11th seed Diana Shnaider.