Sonay Kartal sweeps through in Beijing on tour return

Sonay Kartal won her first WTA Tour match in almost six months.

The British world No. 129 beat Spain's Andrea Lazaro Garcia 6-2 6-3 in Beijing on 1 October to move through the opening round of the China Open, the Round of 128 in a 128-player draw BBC. The tie was listed on the tournament order of play for Thursday WTA.

Kartal took control early and never let go. She broke serve five times, taking her opponent's service game, and landed 69% of her first serves. Lazaro Garcia, who came through qualifying to reach the main draw, hit four double faults and could not find a way back into the rallies.

Job done. In straight sets.

The result ends a long wait. Kartal injured her lower back at Indian Wells in March and then spent almost six months away from the tour BBC. She made her comeback at the Billie Jean King Cup on 22 September, the women's team event where players represent their countries, before returning to tour-level singles.

Her first match back last week ended in defeat to Czech world No. 26 Marie Bouzkova. Beijing brought a kinder draw and a cleaner performance.

Next comes a step up. Kartal will face China's 31st seed Wang Xinyu in the second round. The seeding system keeps the highest-ranked players apart in the early rounds, so a seed in the thirties is still a direct test of where Kartal's game sits after injury.

The China Open runs from 28 September to 11 October in Beijing as part of the late-season hard-court swing.

What makes this stand out is the manner, not just the scoreline. Five breaks in two sets points to sharp returning and steady nerve on the big points, exactly what tends to go missing after a long layoff. For fans, this means a proper gauge comes next against a seeded home player with the crowd behind her.