Sonay Kartal's impressive Wimbledon run ended by Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Sonay Kartal's memorable Wimbledon comes to an end on Centre Court
What a run it's been for Sonay, reaching her first Grand Slam fourth round! 👏#BackTheBrits 🇬🇧 | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/m5oO6nMEeH
— LTA (@the_LTA) July 6, 2025
Pavlyuchenkova went on to lose the game, leaving Kartal serving for the opening set, and she furiously told umpire Nico Helwerth at the change of ends: 'Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me.'
The controversy did not cost Pavlyuchenkova in the end, with the Russian reaching the quarter-finals at the All England Club for the first time in nine years.
While she had hoped to go further, the consolation for Kartal is that she will hit a new career-high ranking next Monday of around 44 and will surpass her childhood rival Emma Raducanu as British number two.
Kartal could not have had a more dramatic entrance for her first time on Centre Court, with a huge clap of thunder reverberating around the arena as she strode out.
Intriguing scenes!
Pavlyuchenkova thinks Kartal has put her forehand long and stops before the Brit slams back a winner.
The umpire checks and confirms the electronic line calling system was unable to track the point, which leads to the point being replayed.#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Qkz3Rickj5
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 6, 2025
It must have been a pinch-me moment for the 23-year-old, who this time last year was ranked down at 298 and had to make her way through qualifying.
Kartal had started slowly in all her matches and it was the same here, with Pavlyuchenkova, who made her Wimbledon debut back in 2007, moving into a 2-0 lead.
The Russian is a pure ball striker but not as mobile as Kartal, who could take confidence from having beaten a similar type of player in Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round.
She quickly settled into the contest and used her speed and intelligent point construction to edge her way into the lead with a run of three games in a row, despite heavy strapping on her right knee.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova celebrates her victory (Adam Davy/PA)
The crowd, which included another raft of sporting figures in the Royal Box plus Kartal's doubles partner Jodie Burrage in her box, responded with a roar, but Pavlyuchenkova is a very experienced campaigner and she pounded her opponent's second serve to get back on level terms.
The contest could not have been more finely balanced when technology became the third player.
It appeared the blunder might cost the Russian the set, but Kartal could not convert a set point and a determined Pavlyuchenkova was the stronger player in the tie-break.
The set took 68 minutes, and the early stages of the second saw Pavlyuchenkova begin to take control.
Kartal tried to find a way back into the contest but Pavlyuchenkova was ultimately too strong, the Russian clinching victory with her 36th winner.
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BBC News
18 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Human error' - Wimbledon sorry over missed line calls
Wimbledon organisers have apologised after the electronic line-calling system on Centre Court was turned off in error and missed three calls in one Pavlyuchenkova said a game was 'stolen' from her after there was no 'out' call when a Sonay Kartal backhand went long in the first set of their fourth-round Russian stopped after seeing the ball go long, and chair umpire Nico Helwerth halted All England Club initially said the system was "deactivated on the point in question" due to "operator error".A spokesperson said later on Sunday that, after further investigation, it was found that the technology was "deactivated in error on part of the server's side of the court for one game".During that time three calls on the affected side of the court were not picked - who did not know the system had been turned off - called two of them himself before the incident highlighted by Pavlyuchenkova. "We have apologised to the players involved," a spokesperson for the All England Club said."We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball tracking technology."In this instance there was a human error and as a consequence we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes." Had the ball been called out, Pavlyuchenkova would have won the point and taken the it was replayed, Kartal won the point and went on to break for a 5-4 had seen the ball was out - and a TV replay showed that was the case by some the crowd, Helwerth said: "We're just going to check if the system was up and running, because there was no audio call."After a telephone call, he announced the electronic system "was unfortunately unable to track the last point" and ordered the point to be rulebook states that if the electronic line calling system fails to make a call, "the call shall be made by the chair umpire".It adds: "If the chair umpire is unable to determine if the ball was in or out, then the point shall be replayed. This protocol applies only to point-ending shots or in the case when a player stops play."The fact Pavlyuchenkova went on to win the match meant the malfunction was not as costly as it could have been, although she still questioned why the umpire did not call it out."That's why he's there," she said. "He also saw it out, he told me after the match. "I thought he would do that, but he didn't. Instead they just said replay."I don't know if it's something to do [with Kartal being] local."I think it's also difficult for him. He probably was scared to take such a big decision." 'You took the game away from me' Pavlyuchenkova was clearly frustrated when she returned to her chair at the end of the told the umpire: "I don't know if it's in or out. How do I know? How can you prove it? "You took the game away from me ... They stole the game from me. They stole it." The automated line-calling system was introduced at Wimbledon for the first time this Jevans - chair of the All England Club - said on Friday she was confident in its accuracy and the decision to bring it in. Electronic line-calling technology has been under scrutiny this week at Wimbledon, with a number of players saying they do not trust Emma Raducanu has been one of those to voice concerns, saying some of the calls had been "dodgy", while former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic said the technology was a topic of discussion among players in the locker said she was usually a fan of the technology but "it is not correct" at this judges have been replaced by technology at many top-level tournaments, including the US Open and Australian previously said the technology was brought in because "the players wanted it" and some have backed the system, with former world number one Iga Swiatek saying she has had doubts but "has to trust" the calls. 'Let's just play without umpires' When there were line judges, players could challenge the calls by using an electronic review. There are no challenges under the current system and video replays are not suggested tennis should use video checks like football does "so that we can review the point"."On such a big event I think it is necessary, since this isn't the first time this has happened," she told BBC said umpires were there to make big decisions otherwise they could "just play without them", adding: "I think the chair umpire should be able to take initiatives. "That's what he is there for and that's why he is sitting in that chair, otherwise I think we could have also had a match without a chair umpire. "They have no problem giving us fines and code violations, for any reason sometimes. So I would like them to be a bit more intensive to this sort of situation." Pavlyuchenkova added in a news conference: "I would prefer they looked at the lines and call in the errors [and] mistakes better."
Scottish Sun
20 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Wimbledon apologise for hawkeye failure during Sonay Kartal match as All-England Club makes clear where blame lies
WIMBLEDON have apologised for a failure of its all-electric hawkeye system during Sonay Kartal's match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Russian star was left fuming after a point was replayed when the hawkeye system failed to register a shot which had been out of bounds. 4 Wimbledon have apologised after a hawkeye failure in Sonay Kartal's match with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 4 Pavlyuchenkova said the umpire had taken the game away from her Credit: Getty 4 Sonay Kartal lost in straight sets Credit: Getty Kartal's forehand at game point to Pavluchenkova in the ninth game of the opener was clearly out but there was no call from the electronic officials. With both players perplexed, German umpire Nico Helwerth halted play for three minutes as TV replays showed the non-call was totally wrong. Eventually, Helwerth announced: 'The electronic system was unable to track the last point', ordering a replay, which saw Pavlyluchenkova volley wildly and eventually lose serve again. She then complained, "Because she is local, they can say whatever. You took the game away from me," due to the failure. READ MORE IN TENNIS CAM ON THEN Norrie's fuming Wimbledon rival Jarry squares up to him as Brit wins epic And Wimbledon chiefs have since apologised for the issue and revealed what caused the problem. A spokesperson for the All England Club commented: 'Following the Pavlyuchenkova vs Kartal match, we have had the opportunity to undertake further investigation, including speaking to the players, Chair Umpire, Hawk-Eye operators and Review Official. "It is now clear that the live ELC system, which was working optimally, was deactivated in error on part of the server's side of the court for one game by those operating the system. 'In that time there were three calls not picked up by live ELC on the affected part of the court. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK "Two of these were called by the Chair Umpire, who was not made aware that the system had been deactivated. "Following the third, the Chair Umpire stopped the match and consulted with the Review Official. It was determined that the point should be replayed. Britain's last hope in Wimbledon women's draw Sonay Kartal OUT after huge controversy as rival accuses umpire of bias "The Chair Umpire followed the established process. 'We have apologised to the players involved. 'We continue to have full confidence in the accuracy of the ball tracking technology. "The live ELC system relies on the Hawk-Eye operators, the Review Official and the technology to work in harmony. This did not happen. "In this instance there was a human error and as a consequence we have fully reviewed our processes and made the appropriate changes." It came just two days after Emma Raducanu publicly called out the AI judging. Kartal, the last British player in the women's singles and making her Centre Court bow under a roof closed for daylight play for the first time this Championships, gave her all in a topsy-turvy roller-coaster of a match against Pavlyuchenkova. Despite earning a set point in the opener, the 23-year-old Kartal was eventually out-hit as she lost 7-6 6-3 in two hours and two minutes. 4
The Sun
21 minutes ago
- The Sun
Brits' opponent forced to retire from Wimbledon after suffering freak injury when he tried to catch the ball
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