Brighton and Hove tennis star Sonay Kartal was thwarted in her attempt to make the last 16 at Wimbledon this afternoon (Friday 5 July).
The 22-year-old, ranked 295 in the world, lost 6-4 6-0 to the 20-year-old American second seed Coco Gauff, the reigning US Open champion, in the third round on Court No 1.
Kartal qualified for her place at the championships this year, having previously been given a wild card entry.
She beat the Romanian 29th seed Sorana Cirstea on Monday (1 July), coming back from a set down to win 3-6 6-2 6-0.
And in the second round on Wednesday, Kartal beat Clara Burel, a French player ranked 45 in the world, in a three-set thriller. Kartal won 6-3 5-7 6-3.
The former Longhill pupil still plays at the Pav and Ave – the Pavilion and Avenue Tennis Club in Hove – and lost today after her best run yet in a grand slam tournament.
On BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds, the former British No 1 Laura Robson said: “Gauff is just the more experienced player at this level.
“But what a tournament for Kartal, not having gone past the first round previously.
“It will do wonders for her ranking, help her for the US Open qualifying and let’s not forget about the prize money. Let’s hope this is a building block.”
Kartal is expected to have earned £143,000 for reaching the third round. The men’s and women’s champions are due to pick up £2.7 million each.
Meanwhile, her big British rival when they were teenagers, Emma Raducanu, has just won her third-round match against Maria Sakkari on Centre Court.
Raducanu, 21, a wildcard entry, won the first set 6-2 and broke early in the second set to go 2-1 up against the 28-year-old Greek player who is currently ranked No 9 in the world.
Sakkari has never progressed beyond the third round at Wimbledon while Raducanu, the former US Open champion currently ranked 135, has never made it past the fourth round.
Raducanu previously beat Sakkari (6-1 6-4) in the semi-finals of the US Open in 2021 on her way to her first and only grand slam title.
Today, a confident-looking Raducanu, whose best ever world ranking was 10th two years ago, rounded out the match under the Centre Court roof by winning the second set 6-3.
In the fourth round Raducanu faces 23-year-old qualifier Lulu Sun, ranked 123 in the world, for a place in the quarter-finals.
