Britain’s Sonay Kartal beat lucky loser Renata Zarazua at the Abu Dhabi Open to reach the last eight after her original opponent and defending champion Belinda Bencic withdrew due to illness.

Bencic, ranked ninth in the world, became the first mother to win a WTA singles title since May 2023, when she defeated Ashlyn Krueger in last year’s final, just four months after returning from maternity leave.

Kartal, who won two qualifying matches and defeated Spain’s Cristina Busca in the first round, was on court for just 57 minutes as she defeated Mexico’s Sarazua 6-0, 6-3.

The British No. 2 and world No. 61 will face 20-year-old Czech Sara Bejrek in the quarter-finals.

Fellow Briton Katie Boulter advanced to the last eight with a straight-sets win over Switzerland’s fifth-seeded Viktorija Golubic at the Ostrava Open.

The 29-year-old vaulter dropped just two games in each set to set up a matchup with either fourth-seeded Rebecca Slamkova or Linda Hruvirtova.

This is the first time she has won back-to-back main draw singles matches since the Nottingham Open in June.