Sonay Kartal shone on her favourite court once again as she eased through to the third round of Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old developed an affinity for Court Three during her breakthrough run to the last 32 a year ago, and she claimed her best victory at a grand slam there on Monday by beating 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko.
That set up a clash with Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova for which Kartal was a big favourite and she showed the form that has carried her to a top-50 ranking this season in a 6-2 6-2 victory.
Super Sonay does it in style 💥
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2025
Sonay Kartal defeats Viktoriya Tomova 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round for the second year in a row 💪#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/YnblD2AdHd
“She’s an incredible competitor,” said Kartal. “l knew I was going to have to go out and win that match. I felt good, I felt like I was seeing it, hitting it very clean, so I think I just had one of those days where it was a very good day at the office.
“This tournament I really wanted to show I’m at this level now, I can consistently play. After the match against Jelena I had so much confidence and I feel like with each match out here and on the grass I’m growing in confidence.”
The heat of the first two days was replaced by morning rain, delaying the start of play for two hours.
Tomova, a 30-year-old ranked 111 who has never been beyond the second round of a slam, profited from the retirement of Ons Jabeur in her first match and for five games she tested Kartal.
But, once the British number three was able to exploit Tomova’s limitations in movement, Kartal pulled away, breaking for 4-2 and going on an eight-game winning run.
Tomova turned to her support camp in exasperation early in the second set, at a loss as to how to find a hole in the rock solid game of her opponent.
Among those watching Kartal was British youngster Mimi Xu, and the Brighton player is certainly an example for her compatriots of how rapid a rise up the game can be.
Kartal had a slight wobble at 4-0, losing two games in a row, but she wrapped up victory after only an hour and seven minutes and will now try to break new ground by making the fourth round at a slam for the first time.
