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Sonay Kartal was previously left without accommodation during a tennis tournament, forcing her to hunt frantically for somewhere to stay. The British star has been turning heads as she makes a comeback from a lengthy injury layoff, having reached the semi-finals of the Wuhan Open. While in China, Kartal has upset three seeded players in Belinda Bencic, Jasmine Paolini and, most recently, Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals. She beat the fifth seed 6-2 2-6 6-4 to set up a mouthwatering semi-final with Jelena Ostapenko.
However, during a tournament last year, Kartal revealed that she found herself without accommodation after her short-term flat tenancy expired while competing at Indian Wells. The Brighton-born player was eliminated in the final qualifying round and believed that would signal the end of her time in California.
Yet she received a lifeline when Sloane Stephens pulled out of the competition, granting Kartal entry into the main draw. Speaking at Indian Wells in March 2025, she said: "I booked an apartment to see me through qualifying so I had to find somewhere else to stay last minute. I was homeless for about 12 hours. But it was a good problem to have."
It proved a beneficial reprieve, given that Kartal advanced to the last 16, beating Varvara Lepchenko, Beatriz Haddad Maia and Polina Kudermetova along the way. Her quest for a second WTA Tour title ended against Aryna Sabalenka, who finished as runner-up.
Kartal enjoyed a breakout Wimbledon before being forced to miss this year's British Grand Slam due to a concerning spinal stress fracture.
Kartal was sidelined for six months and had even been left unable to walk without pain, but returned to the WTA Tour late in the campaign to produce the best result of the entire British season, aside from Arthur Fery's fairytale run at SW19.
The 24-year-old is now just the second Briton, alongside Johanna Konta in 2020, to reach this stage of a WTA 1000 event.
“I played her at the start of the year in Auckland,” Kartal said of Svitolina, who edged through 7-5 in a third-set tie-break.
“Today, despite winning the first set pretty comfortably, I knew it was never finished. Whatever the emotion, or whatever was going on at her end of the court, she was going to fight for every point. I knew the level she was going to bring and the grit and determination.
“I definitely did not think I would find this level this fast. It’s a surprise to me. I’ve had my best wins in my third tournament back.”
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