China Open 2026: Sonay Kartal exits in third round defeat to Alina Charaeva
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Britain's Sonay Kartal saw her China Open run come to an end after a straight sets defeat to Armenia's Alina Charaeva in the third round in Beijing.
Kartal held firm during a turbulent opening set but couldn’t find a way past the Armenian player, eventually bowing out in a 6-4, 6-1 defeat.
The tournament marked Kartal's first WTA Tour event since reaching the fourth round at Indian Wells in March. The 24-year-old missed the clay and grass court seasons with a back injury before making her return at last month's Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Kartal returned to Beijing looking to build on the success she enjoyed at the tournament last year, when she reached her first WTA 1000 quarter-final and claimed the biggest win of her career against Mirra Andreeva.
This year, she secured victories over Andrea Lazaro Garcia and 31st seed Xinyu Wang on her way to setting up a third round match against Charaeva, who upset world No.1 Elena Rybakina in the second round.
Charaeva carried the confidence from that upset into the opening exchanges, breaking in the third game to move into a 3-1 lead.
Despite facing sustained pressure on serve, Kartal responded well. After saving a break point to stay within touching distance, the Brit capitalised on a double fault from Charaeva to recover the break and level the set at 3-3.
However, it wasn’t long before Charaeva reinstated her advantage, sealing a break to love after the Brit sent a forehand long to set up the chance to serve for the set at 5-4.
Kartal refused to back down, creating two break points as she looked to force her way back into contention but the world No.118 held her nerve and reeled off three points on the bounce to close out the opener.
The momentum remained firmly with Charaeva at the start of the second set, as the 24-year-old put together a run of four games and never looked back.
Kartal managed to get on the board, but the challenge proved too big, as Charaeva wrapped up victory after an hour and 32 minutes when the Brit’s final forehand drifted past the baseline.
Kartal will now continue her comeback by making her way to the Wuhan Open where she’s set to compete in qualifying alongside fellow Brit Katie Boulter.
