Maja Chwalinska and Sonay Kartal faced off in a surprise final at the 2026 Wuhan Open, and they have both made significant jumps in the WTA Rankings.

Polish star Chwalinska downed Kartal 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the title match at the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan on Sunday.

Chwalinska, who was a runner-up at Roland Garros in June, has jumped 11 places to a new career-high ranking of world No 11 following her maiden career title.

Kartal started Wuhan as the world No 170 and competed using a protected ranking after missing over six months this season due to injury.

The 24-year-old Brit has soared 121 places to 49th — five places below her career-best position of world No 44.

Jelena Ostapenko, who lost to Kartal in the semi-finals in Wuhan, has moved up 10 spots to 24th.

Ann Li has climbed six positions to a new career-high of world No 25 after her run to the quarter-finals in Wuhan.

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World No 1 Elena Rybakina did not compete in Wuhan due to a foot injury, and as a result, she has dropped 500 points.

This has allowed second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka to close the gap to 1,646 points despite her opening match exit at the WTA 1000 event.

WTA Rankings Top 20 (19 October)

1. Elena Rybakina, Kazakhstan – 9,196

2. Aryna Sabalenka – 7,550

3. Mirra Andreeva – 6,306

4. Jessica Pegula, United States – 6,235

5. Coco Gauff, United States – 5,974

6. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine – 5,229

7. Karolina Muchova, Czechia – 4,833

8. Linda Noskova, Czechia – 4,678

9. Iga Swiatek, Poland – 4,389

10. Marta Kostyuk, Ukraine – 3,920

11. Maja Chwalinska, Poland – 3,031 (+11)

12. Iva Jovic, United States – 2,931 (-1)

13. Diana Shnaider – 2,663

14. Belinda Bencic, Switzerland – 2,662 (-2)

15. Elise Mertens, Belgium – 2,540 (-1)

16. Victoria Mboko, Canada – 2,501 (-1)

17. Sorana Cirstea, Romania – 2,380 (-1)

18. Amanda Anisimova, United States – 2,363 (-1)