Alina Charaeva vs Sonay Kartal Preview & Prediction | 2026 China Open | Third Round

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Alina Charaeva faces Sonay Kartal at the China Open.

Ranking points: WTA 1000

Start date/time: 5 October 2026 at 3:00 am

Venue: National Tennis Center, Beijing, China

Surface: Outdoor hard

How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports Tennis / USA – Tennis Channel

How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / USA – Tennis Channel

Tickets: Visit this link for the latest Alina Charaeva vs Sonay Kartal ticket information

Alina Charaeva vs Sonay Kartal prediction

Alina Charaeva produced one of the shocks of the year after beating newly crowned world number one Elena Rybakina in the second-round of the China Open. Rybakina was below par throughout, with the world number 118 fighting back from a set down to win 3-6 6-4 6-3 after two hours and 11 minutes. Charaeva is through to the third-round of a WTA event for the first time in her career.

She now faces Sonay Kartal. The Brit continued her impressive return to the tour with a straight sets win over Xinyu Wang. Kartal had not competed on the tour since sustaining a back injury at Indian Wells in March, but she produced a fine display to win 6-3 6-2. She advanced to the quarter-finals of this tournament last year.

Charaeva will be raring to go after such an incredible victory in the previous round, but Kartal has a strong record at this event and has the consistency to match her opponent. 

Alina Charaeva vs Sonay Kartal tip: Over 20.5 games