WUHAN: Maja Chwalinska pulled off an impressive comeback to defeat Britain's Sonay Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and claim the first tour-level title of her career at the Wuhan Open on Sunday.
The Polish 16th seed trailed by a set and a break before she turned things around to become just the fourth player to win her maiden tour-level title at a WTA 1000 event.
She joins Naomi Osaka (2018 Indian Wells), Bianca Andreescu (2019 Indian Wells) and Victoria Mboko (2025 Montreal) in that exclusive club.
The 25-year-old Chwalinska started the year ranked 146 in the world and provided one of the biggest surprises of the season when she reached the French Open final as a qualifier in June.
The talented lefty will now rise to a career-high No 11 in the world, making her top-20 debut when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Kartal, who was contesting her second tour event back from a six-month hiatus due to a spinal stress fracture, entered Wuhan ranked 170 in the world but will return to the top 50 after reaching the first WTA 1000 final of her career.
The first set was one-way traffic, with Kartal dictating play with heavy hitting from the baseline and Chwalinska scrambling to defend from all corners of the court.
It took three breaks of serve and 45 minutes to give Kartal a one-set lead and send her closer to the biggest title of her career.
Chwalinska found her legs in the second set and began to put pressure on the Kartal serve by employing the methods that helped her knock out her compatriot Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals: extending the rallies, running down every ball, and mixing things up with her smooth touch.
Despite saving 10 out of 13 break points and holding a 2-0 advantage early in the frame, Kartal surrendered the second set after 71 minutes.
Kartal ran out of steam in the decider as Chwalinska broke twice to secure the trophy on her third championship point after a gruelling two hours and 43 minutes.