Kartal made the quarter-finals in Beijing in 2025 but had slipped down to 129 in the world after missing the majority of this season, including the past three Grand Slam tournaments.
She retired injured from a last-16 clash against Rybakina at Indian Wells in March and did not return to competitive action until last month’s Billie Jean King Cup Finals.
Yet after earning a comfortable win over Spain’s Andrea Lazaro Garcia on her return to tour duty at the China Open, Kartal followed that up with a clinical performance in beating Wang.
She produced 12 winners and made just 11 unforced errors, compared to her opponent’s 24, converting five of her 14 break points with some impressive groundstrokes.
“I am super happy to play here and I think that shows in my tennis,” Kartal said in her on-court interview, as she recalled her run to last year’s quarter-final.
“I’ve had a long time out but I am happy to make a return to this event – I am looking to equal or hopefully do better this year.”
To do that, Kartal would have been preparing herself to face Rybakina, but the US Open champion was well below her best in a disappointing 6-3 4-6 3-6 defeat by unseeded Charaeva, who had never before faced a top 20 player on the WTA Tour.
Meanwhile, Kartal’s British team-mate Harriet Dart produced an encouraging display in a three-set defeat by American 10th seed Iva Jovic.
The 30-year-old British qualifier looked capable of causing an upset after claiming three breaks of serve in the opening set to charge into an early lead before eventually losing out 2-6 6-3 6-3 to the rising 18-year-old.
