Sonay Kartal qualified for the Wimbledon Championships a year ago and reached the third round.
She was defeated by Coco Gauff on that occasion. A year later, Gauff, the French Open champion, is already out of the tournament and Kartal entered the draw outright and progressed to round three.
The 23-year-old took on the tricky Diane Parry for a spot in the fourth round and she claimed an emphatic 6-4, 6-2 victory.
Sonay Kartal has now reached the round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the first time in her career and the British crowd will continue to cheer her on with great pride and passion.
Sonay Kartal thanks the crowd after reaching the Wimbledon round of 16 for the first time
Kartal made a shaky start to her very first WTA match against Parry.
But the British number three lost just three more games from that moment, as she grew in confidence from the baseline and dealt with Parry’s variety and creativity extremely well.
It did not take long for Kartal to wrap up the biggest victory of her career and in the process continue her quest for a first Grand Slam title.
“I think everyone saw from the level that I started off pretty nervously. It was the biggest and most meaningful stage I have played on,” Kartal said.
“I have a lot of people here and I wanted to do them proud, and do myself proud. So I appreciate you guys sticking behind me through every single point, it really helps.”
Sonay Kartal says her game is becoming more consistent after reaching the Wimbledon fourth round
Sonay Kartal has enjoyed a somewhat sharp rise up the WTA Tour rankings over the past 12 months.
This is due to her improved consistency on tour, as Kartal has managed to win at least one match in eight of the tournaments she has entered in 2025.
After reaching the last 16 at Wimbledon, Kartal commented on how she has become more consistent to produce the type of results she is showing now.
“I think I have been a lot more consistent in my game. I have managed to keep niggles and injuries not too prominent that they keep me out,” Kartal added.
“I was doing a lot of good things on the practice court and playing with a lot of freedom and I always trusted it would transfer on to the match court.
“I think this time last year was the first time that it really came out and I think with every single match and every single week I am playing the bigger events I am growing more confident as a player and as a person.”
In the fourth round Kartal will play Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who defeated Naomi Osaka to reach round four.
