British star makes tattoo vow after claiming biggest Wimbledon win of her career
World No.51 Sonay Kartal ensured a winning start for British players at Wimbledon on Monday when she saw off 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko - and another win could bring a tattoo
Sonay Kartal is keen to add to her tattoo collection after beating 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round at Wimbledon.
Kartal overcame the 20th seed 7-5 2-6 6-2 to become the first Brit to book her place in the second round on Monday. The 23-year-old has been climbing the rankings recently and, having reached 51st in the world, she picked up her third over a top-20 player this year.
She is one of 14 British women, with 23 Brits in total competing in the main draw of Wimbledon and continued her strong showings at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
After claiming three wins in 2024, the British No.3 picked up where she left off on court three, beating Ostapenko, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2018.
Kartal already has 14 tattoos and was asked whether she might get inked to commemorate this performance. 'A tattoo? Maybe not for the first round,' she replied. 'Maybe I would have to go a few rounds further to get one, I think. Maybe if I made it to the second week, I'll probably get one. Knowing me, I'd get one.
'Yeah, I mean, I'm just so happy to be back and to be playing as well as I did today. I enjoyed every second being on that court. It was an incredible atmosphere. To have the crowd in your ear just supporting you when you need it the most, yeah, it's super touching and it means a lot.
'What [tattoo] would I get? I haven't thought about it. I'll come back to you in the next press conference. But I've got a few that are in the lineup, as well. So I have to see if we can bump the queue.'
Asked if strawberries might be a fitting image for a tattoo, Kartal replied: 'No. I don't think so. I wouldn't get something that obvious. I would get something that people are connected to Wimbledon and understand Wimbledon, they would understand. Maybe not necessarily to somebody not involved in tennis. I would like to get something related to Wimbledon.'
Kartal reached the third round of Wimbledon last year before falling to Coco Gauff and feels that the Ostapenko win is her best at the tournament.
'I would say it probably ranks top, I think. Just proving to myself that I can compete with the best,' she said. 'She's obviously an incredible player and has so much experience on the tour, as well. She has an amazing game for grass.
'I think that one is probably my biggest win, and also kind of I left the court with so much more confidence than I did in the ones last year, for sure.'
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