Maja Chwalinska and Sonay Kartal have both been rewarded for their runs to the Wuhan Open final.
Chwalinska beat Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to win her first ever WTA title at the Wuhan Open, which is a 1000 level tournament.
This is another huge result in a breakout season for Chwalinska, who reached the Roland Garros final after coming through qualifying earlier this year.
While Kartal was unable to capture the title in Wuhan, both she and Chwalinska have now both made major moves in the latest update of the WTA rankings.
Maja Chwalinska and Sonay Kartal make significant jumps up the rankings
Chwalinska was the world number 22 coming into the Wuhan Open, having begun the season as the world number 146, and after beating the likes of Iga Swiatek, Iva Jovic and then Kartal in the final has taken it even further.
The Pole has now risen 11 places up to a career-high ranking of world number 11, putting Chwalinska on the brink of making her top 10 debut. This is something that Chwalinska has a good opportunity to achieve next year, with minimal ranking points to defend until Roland Garros next year.
While Chwalinska is the standout from the Wuhan Open as the champion, Kartal’s ranking rise is perhaps even more remarkable.
Kartal was a top 50 player earlier this year, but after suffering a stress fracture in her lower back, she was forced to spend six months on the sidelines before recently returning for the Asian swing.
Prior to the Wuhan Open this year, Kartal was the world number 170 and required a protected ranking to enter the tournament. Kartal took full advantage of this and after reaching the final in Wuhan, she has climbed a huge 121 places up to world number 149.
This is not Kartal’s career-high ranking, as she has been as high as world number 44, but it does now mean that she has overtaken Katie Boulter to become British number one for the first time.
Maja Chwalinska reveals what her ranking goal was before the start of 2026
Chwalinska was the world number 146 before the start of the 2026 season, and had only ever won one Grand Slam match before.
The 25-year-old was asked about now being the world number 11 after winning the Wuhan Open, with Chwalinska admitting that her goal before the start of the year was to become a top 100 player for the first time.
“Yeah, I’m obviously very happy. My goal at the beginning of the year was top 100, so I think I did a great job,” said Chwalinska. “So, I’m very happy that I reached that goal finally.
“Of course this year was very rewarding for me, but I’ve been playing tennis for 18 years so I think sometimes you just need to trust that the right things will come at the right time and yeah, I think that this season is just an example for that.”
Chwalinska has decided not to compete at the Ningbo Open this week, taking a break after her Wuhan victory, but she is still entered into the Tokyo Open to bring an end to her hugely successful 2026 season.