Brighton tennis player Sonay Kartal has capped a breakthrough week by clinching her maiden WTA tour title at the Jasmin Open in Tunisia yesterday (Sunday 15 September).
The 22-year-old British number four held her nerve to beat Rebecca Sramkova, from Slovakia. The 6-3 7-5 win will catapult her into the top 100 in next week’s world rankings.
Kartal had come through qualifying but lost just one set throughout the tournament and took her second opportunity to serve out for the title when her opponent splayed a forehand wide.
She had already been enjoying the best season of her young career having reached the third round of Wimbledon as a qualifier where she lost to Coco Gauff on Court One.
Yesterday, Kartal took the first set with the minimum of fuss and looked set to race away for the title after establishing a 4-1 lead in the second set against an opponent also experiencing her first tour final.
But Sramkova surged back to level at 4-4, before a series of service breaks ended with Kartal nudging into a 6-5 lead from which she went on to complete her win.
Afterwards, Kartal said: “Right now, it’s unbelievable. I tried so much to put the occasion and the score behind me and try to treat it just like any other match.
“It’s been such a good week. I’ve played some of my best tennis and it feels like in every match I’ve got better.”
Kartal’s win means that she joins a small band of British winners on the WTA tour and, having already exceeded her own expectations for 2024, she is already looking forward to next year.
She added: “I started the year with the goal of being in the top 150 and now I’m passed that. I’m trying to end the year in the top 100 and put myself in the best position for Australia.”
