Sonay Kartal open to suggestions over her next tattoo after reaching third round

Leader Live

9 hours ago

The 23-year-old continued her love affair with Court Three by brushing aside Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova 6-2 6-2 in just over an hour to reach the third round for the second straight year.
Kartal has a large collection of tattoos and is planning to add another after the end of the tournament, with the British number three calling on fans to help her choose.
'I'm open to suggestions,' she said. 'If people throw me some good ideas, I will definitely consider them – 90 per cent I would end up going with one of those ideas.'
The heat of the first two days was replaced by morning rain, delaying the start of play for two hours.
Tomova, a 30-year-old ranked 111 who has never been beyond the second round of a slam, profited from the retirement of Ons Jabeur in her first match and for five games she tested Kartal.
But, once the British number three – who claimed her best grand slam victory in round one against Jelena Ostapenko on the same court – was able to exploit Tomova's limitations in movement, Kartal pulled away, breaking for 4-2 and going on an eight-game winning run.
Super Sonay does it in style 💥
Sonay Kartal defeats Viktoriya Tomova 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round for the second year in a row 💪#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/YnblD2AdHd
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2025
Tomova turned to her support camp in exasperation early in the second set, at a loss as to how to find a hole in the rock solid game of her opponent.
Kartal had a slight wobble at 4-0, losing two games in a row, but she wrapped up victory after only 67 minutes and will now try to break new ground by making the fourth round at a slam for the first time.
'That match today was a very clean match from me,' she said. 'I don't think I did much wrong at all. I was seeing it really well. I felt confident. I feel like I was playing really aggressive tennis. Did exactly what me and the coach wanted to go out and do. So very happy with the performance today.'
Kartal appears to have a great chance of going further with another unseeded opponent next in French qualifier Diane Parry.
She is taking pride at having backed up last year's run, and proving to herself that her heavy topspin game can give her major opportunities on grass as well as the other surfaces.
'I think having a home slam, I think that's one arena I really want to perform well in front of the people that mean the most to me, friends and family and everyone,' she said.
'Also, it's a surface that doesn't really come naturally to me. I have to really think and adapt my game style, which I think is also going to help me develop beyond this tournament as well.
'I have to be really aggressive. That's something I need to do to get better at in my game outside of Wimbledon. I think if I can be aggressive on grass, I can prove to myself that I can do it and I can do it against the best players.'