Sonay Kartal becomes the new British No.1
• 2 minute read
Sonay Kartal is the new women’s singles British No.1 after a career-best run to the Wuhan Open WTA 1000 final.
The 24-year-old becomes the 24th player to hold the top spot in the British rankings since 1975, overtaking Katie Boulter.
In just her second tournament back from a six-month injury spell, Kartal put together an incredible run in China to become only the second British player to reach a WTA 1000 singles final since the introduction of the format in 2009.
Kartal was the lowest-ranked player to reach a WTA 1000 final, entering the tournament as world No.170. After an historic week the British star has risen 121 places to world No.49.
“There are a lot of things that I want to achieve in my career and that (becoming British No.1) was up there,” Kartal told BBC Sport after the final.
“I really hoped that one day I would achieve that, and it’s a nice touch to wake up tomorrow (Monday) and see that statistic.
“I’m so proud of this week. It’s tough not to get the result, it would have been nice to end on a high, but there are so many positives and things that I’ve achieved this week that will set me up nicely for next year.”
British No.1 players since 1975
- Virginia Wade
- Sue Barker
- Jo Durie
- Annabel Croft
- Anne Hobbs
- Sara Gomer
- Monique Javer
- Sarah Loosemore
- Clare Wood
- Lizzie Jelfs
- Rachel Viollet
- Sam Smith
- Louise Latimer
- Julie Pullin
- Lucie Ahl
- Elena Baltacha
- Anne Keothavong
- Katie O’Brien
- Heather Watson
- Laura Robson
- Johanna Konta
- Emma Raducanu
- Katie Boulter
- Sonay Kartal (from 19 October 2026)
Coming off the back of a strong end to the 2025 season where she enjoyed a career-best win over Mirra Andreeva in Beijing, Kartal started this year in impressive form.
She reached the quarter-finals in Auckland and Abu Dhabi before reaching the fourth round at Indian Wells.
However, it was here that she picked up a stress fracture injury in her lower back that put her out of match action for six months – missing Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Kartal made her return at the Billie Jean King Cup, where she came close to beating Marie Bouzkova with an impressive performance for Great Britain.
She reached the third round of the China Open in Beijing before going on her incredible run in Wuhan.
Wins over former Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic, two-time Grand Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini, world No.6 Elina Svitolina and 2017 Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko have shown her quality on the biggest stage as she returns amongst the world's best.
Kartal has won one previous WTA title at Monastir in 2024 and has a career-high ranking at world No.44 in July last year.
