Sonay Kartal made a name for herself at Wimbledon.
The British No3 went further than she has ever gone at a Grand Slam before, reaching the fourth round.
On Sunday she faced an opponent ranked only one place higher than her in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, but lost in straight sets 7-6 6-4 on Centre Court to fall before the quarter-finals and miss out on British No1 status in the process.
Who has Kartal beaten at Wimbledon this year?
The 23-year-old went into the fourth round for the very first time, following three impressive victories in the Championships’ first week.
In the first round, she knocked out the 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko in stunning fashion, defying her own inferior ranking of 51st to come through in three sets against the Latvian, winning 7-5 2-6 6-2.
She then faced the world No111 Viktoriya Tomova, against whom she was the favourite. Sure enough, she made light work of the Bulgarian, winning 6-2 6-2 in a dominant performance on Court No3 on Wednesday.
Kartal then played an opponent ranked just four places below her (before Wimbledon started), the Russian player Pavlyuchenkova.
The world No53 is 11 years Kartal’s senior and a former French Open finalist. She knocked out Ajla Tomljanovic in the first round and the 31st seed Ashlyn Krueger in the second before coming from a set down to stun four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka on Friday.
Pavlyuchenkova bounced back after a line-calling controversy that involved the electronic system malfunctioning in the first set as she won 7-6 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.
How has Kartal performed at Wimbledon in previous years?
This was the Brit’s fourth year in the Wimbledon main draw. She was knocked out in the first round as a wildcard in both 2022 and 2023.
Last year, she came through qualifying and got as far as the third round before bowing out at the hands of Coco Gauff, who won the French Open last month but was knocked out in the first round of Wimbledon this year.
This year marked the first time Kartal was in the main draw by virtue of her ranking, rather than having needed a wildcard spot or to come through qualifying in order to compete.
Kartal was born in Sidcup in south-east London but moved to Brighton as a child.
That is where she still lives now. She is of Turkish descent through her father, and it is thanks to a chance conversation at his Turkish restaurant in Brighton that she became a tennis player.
Her father struck up conversation with a customer who happened to be an LTA tennis coach and offered training sessions to his daughter, Sonay. You can read more about that story in Standard Sport’s exclusive interview with Kartal published ahead of Wimbledon.
Does Kartal have a partner?
Kartal has been in a relationship with British bodybuilder Luke Ogbourn.
Ogbourn has been a vocal supporter of Kartal and was pictured bringing her flowers on her run to the third round of Wimbledon last summer.
According to his Instagram account, he took home the bronze medal at the World’s Strongest Man U23 competition in 2024.
However, he has not been spotted at Wimbledon this year. When asked after her win against Parry whether she is in a relationship and who was watching on from her box, she ignored the first part of the question and spoke only about family members and her coach.
What do we know about Kartal’s love of tattoos?
Kartal has said on a number of occasions that she loves getting new tattoos, and said in a press conference before the tournament that she would get a new one after Wimbledon if it goes well.
After victory over Parry, she said: “I’m not one to say no to a tattoo. I can easily be persuaded. I said in the press for anyone who has any ideas to let me know.
“My tattoos all started with meaning. Then I guess the more I got, the kind of more spontaneous and braver I got.”
One of her tattoos reads ‘The show must go on’, but she has explained that there is no personal meaning behind that tattoo.
What music does Kartal like?
The 23-year-old has previously revealed that her karaoke song is Dolly Parton’s ‘Islands in the Stream’.
Asked whether she is an Oasis fan, she said on Friday: “I like a few of their songs. I wouldn’t say I’m a hardcore Oasis fan.
“I like a lot of ’90s music, old school, 2000s. I’m pretty versatile, to be honest with you.
“I have never really had one artist that I really like. I’ve never had an artist release an album that I love every single song. I flicker between different songs. I have a bad habit of playing one song 50 times and then absolutely hating it for the rest of the year.
“I’d say maybe ’90s music is probably my favourite.”
