GB RANKING8
WORLD RANKING302
CAREER HIGH
30/01/2023 195
ITF TITLES9
Last updated: 18/04/2024
FAVOURITE
SURFACE: Hard court
SHOT: Forehand
COACH
Julie Hobbs and Ben Reeves
AGE22
HEIGHT163 cm
PLAYSRight-handed
BACKHANDTwo-handed
LTA SUPPORT Pro Scholarship Programme
TURNED PRO2021
FAVOURITE
SURFACE:Hard court
SHOT:Forehand
COACH
Julie Hobbs and Ben Reeves
Get to know Sonay Kartal
About
Quick-fire facts
- Place of Birth: Sidcup
- Lives: Brighton
- Trains: Pavilion & Avenue Tennis Club
- Favourite Tournament: Wimbledon
- Nickname: Karts
- Likes: Music, Animals, Shoes
- Tennis Idols: Kim Clijsters, Roger Federer, Andy Murray
- Primary school: Saltdean Primary
- Secondary school: Longhill School
Tennis beginnings
Kartal first started playing tennis at the age of six at Pavillion & Avenue Tennis Club, where she still trains to this day.
Her first memory of tennis was when she was first brought on court to meet her current coach, Julie Hobbs, falling over and being too scared to come back. But after much persuasion, Hobbs managed to convince her to come back and the two have been inseparable ever since.
Tennis Career
Highlights
- Kartal bagged a nineth career title at the W35 Loughborough by defeating Manon Leonard 6-4, 6-1 in the final
Results
| Tournament | Round |
| January | |
| W75+H Porto | First round |
| W35 Loughborough | Champion |
October
Kartal was selected as one of 10 British players to feature in our new tennis documentary series, Beyond the Baseline, presented by Lexus.
September
Kartal lifted her second ITF title of the season at the W25 Leiria - defeating top seed Anastasia Zakharova in the final 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3.
A week later she went on to make the quarter-finals at the W60+H Calas da Rainha.
July
Kartal marked her second appearance at The Championships, Wimbledon where she met the world No.18 Madison Keys in the opening round, losing 6-0, 6-3.
June
After first round exits in Surbiton and Nottingham, Kartal reached the semi-finals of the Lexus Ilkley Trophy - defeating the fourth and fifth seed, before losing to Emma Navarro in straight sets.
May
Continuing the momentum, Kartal then headed to the W25 Platja D'Aro event. After breezing through to the semi-final without dropping a set, the 21-year-old eventually missed out on a spot in the final after falling short against Brazil's Carolina Alvez, 7-5, 0-6, 6-1.
April
Kartal lifted her seventh career ITF title at the W25 Santa Margherita di Pula in April. The Brit sealed the trophy with four consecutive three-set victories, including two comeback wins in the semi-final and final, where she warpped up the title with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory against Ekaterina Makarova.
Kartal then returned to the W25 Santa Margherita di Pula just a few weeks after where she made it to the semi-finals before falling to France’s Sara Cakerevic 1-6, 6-0, 6-2.
January
Kartal made an appearance at the W60 Sunderland event where she made it to the quarter-final of the singles event. Here she lost out to German Mona Barthel, 6-1, 6-2.
October
Kartal made it through to the quarter-finals at the W60 Trvana, where she eventually lost out to Vitalia Diatchenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
July
Following a scintillating season for the 20-year-old, Kartal was awarded a main draw wildcard to make her Grand Slam debut at SW19. Faced with an experienced Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove in the first round, the Brighton star called for a deciding set but lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.
June
After getting a wild card into the Rothesay Open Nottingham - Kartal lost to third seed Camila Giorgi in her first WTA match 6-4, 6-3.
May
Continuing her winning streak, Kartal was crowned champion for a third time this season after a comfortable 6-1, 6-0 victory over USA’s Danielle Lao in Nottingham, earning her fifth ITF title in her career so far.
Kartal’s taste for winning saw her take yet another trophy in Nottingham after defeating Joanna Garland in a straight-sets victory that would make it Kartal’s fourth ITF title of the season.
February
Kartal began her season by winning her first W25 at the LTA's event in Edgbaston. Kartal earned straight sets wins over Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, Sam Murray Sharan and Eva Lys in the opening rounds, before defeating Nastasja Schunk 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the semi-finals. In the final she took on fellow Brit Talia Neilson Gatenby, where once again she came from a set down to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.
The 20-year-old then rolled on to the W25 Glasgow - also part of the LTA's enhanced performance calendar - where she won her second ITF title in as many weeks. Kartal defeated both the second and eighth seeds en route to the semi-finals, where she knocked out Jodie Burrage 6-3, 6-4. She lifted the title with a 7-6(5), 7-5 win over Barbora Palicova.
Kartal's first pro season started in October, where she enjoyed a run of successful events in Turkey.
In her first tournament at the W15 Antalya, Kartla fought her way through qualifying all the to the final without dropping a set. She took on Spaniard Rosa Vicens Mas and despite fighting back to level the scores at one set apiece, lost 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.
The young Brit returned a week later and this time, went one further, winning her first ITF title. She only dropped nine games en route to the final, where she defeated Hungary's Amarissa Kiara Toth 7-5, 7-5.
Next up, Kartal headed to Monastir to close out the season with yet another ITF title. Wins over Katherina Hering, YeXin Ma, Evita Ramirez and Nina Radovanovic set up a final against Ayumi Morita. Kartal put in a stunning display to beat the Japanese star 6-1, 6-2 in the championship match.
- Winning first professional title in Antalya
- Back-to-back trophies at W25 events in Edgbaston and Glasgow
- Competing at Junior Wimbledon
- Playing at the European Summer Cup in 2019
Women's singles:
- Australian Open: Qualifying - first round (2023)
- Roland Garros: Qualifying - first round (2023)
- Wimbledon: First round (2022, 2023)
- US Open: Qualifying - first round (2022)
2024
- W35 Loughborough
2023
- W25 Leiria
- W25 Santa Margherita di Pula
2022
- W25 Nottingham
- W25 Nottingham
- W25 Birmingham
- W25 Glasgow
2021
- W15 Monastir
- W15 Antalya
