British qualifier Sonay Kartal captures her maiden WTA Tour title in Monastir

James Richardson 15 Sep 2024 7:16 PM

Sonay Kartal plays a shot

British qualifier Sonay Kartal captured her maiden WTA Tour title in Monastir in what was her very first final on the women’s professional tour.

Kartal won the WTA 250 championship in Monastir, Tunisia, after defeating Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia 6-3, 7-5, in a match featuring first-time WTA singles finalists on both ends of the court.

It took Kartal, the world No 151, just a little under two hours to win, staving off a late push in the second set by Sramkova, who headed into the week ranked 136th.

Kartal, who hails from Brighton, becomes the first qualifier to lift a trophy on the WTA Tour this season. However, Olivia Gadecki could match that feat later on Sunday at the Guadalajara Open AKRON.

Additionally, Kartal is the second British player to win a title in 2024. This year, her fellow British player Katie Boulter won the singles titles in Nottingham and San Diego.

Until this run in Monastir, Kartal had never made a tour-level quarterfinal before, but she methodically moved through the draw in Tunisia and would not be denied.

The 22-year-old dropped the first set of the main draw to No 5 seed Jaqueline Cristian, but after that, she wouldn’t drop another set all week as she swept to the title.

“It’s unbelievable,” Kartal said, after her victory. “I’ve had such a good week this week, played some of my best tennis this week, had some of my best wins. I feel like each match I’ve kind of grown and got better.”

Kartal’s ranking fell outside the top 300 as recently as May due to a setback caused by health difficulties. With a strong showing in her run to the third round of her home Slam Wimbledon and her maiden WTA championship under her belt, she appears set to make her Top 100 debut soon.

“I started the year with the goal of being top 150, so now I think I’ve past that,” Kartal said. “I think I’m just trying to end the year in the top 100. … It’s to put myself in the best position for Australia at the start of the year.”

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Kartal dominated the final, taking a 6-3, 4-1 lead. She won 20 of the last 22 points at the end of that run. But world No 136 Sramkova rallied, and on her fourth break point of a thrilling match, she tied the score at 4-4.

She used her backhand to break for 5-4 and serve for the match in the lengthy next game. But Sramkova wasn’t finished yet, as she fired a winning forehand to bring the score back to even at 5-5.

The young Brit eventually took the lead back with a break of her own, to make it 6-5. She then served out the match on her second try, winning with a string of strong forehands.

“I tried so hard to put the occasion and the score behind me, tried to treat it like any other match, as much as I could,” Kartal said.