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Metro
a day ago
- Sport
- Metro
Emma Raducanu knocked out - but Britain can still have a Wimbledon champion
It was obvious from watching Sonay Kartal's showdown with Coco Gauff at Wimbledon last year that she was set for a massive future in tennis. That's exactly why I tipped the British No.3 as my One to Watch at the start of the 2025 Championships, along with her unstoppable surge up the WTA rankings, rather than the likes of Emma Raducanu or Katie Boulter. Kartal was No.298 in the world when she took on American world No.2 superstar Gauff last year, pushing her extremely hard in the first set. Her power and precision makes her a true force on grass and I can remember myself – and a number of other journalists – being blown away by Kartal's aggressive baseline play on that sunny afternoon on Court 1. It was from that moment that I knew we were looking at a future British No.1. Gauff eventually showed her quality but it proved to be a valuable lesson for Kartal, who has got better and better since that third-round defeat, and is now the last British woman left in the Wimbledon singles after Raducanu and Boulter lost to Aryna Sabalenka and Solana Sierra respectively. Kartal landed her first WTA Tour title at the Jasmin Open after her battle with Gauff and 2025 has seen the 23-year-old break into the world top 50. Having reached the last 16 at Wimbledon this year, with a brilliant 6-4 6-2 victory over Diane Parry, here's everything you need to know about Britain's next big thing, who could genuinely become our next Grand Slam winner… Kartal, known for her love of fitness, first picked up a tennis racket at the age of six and idolised Roger Federer and Kim Clijsters in her youth. Her early years in tennis weren't easy as a number of injury problems halted her progress but she never stopped believing she was on the right path. 'I played football and cricket as well as a kid [but] I think once I committed to tennis, I always felt like tennis was the one,' Kartal explained. 'I always felt like I was slightly different as a player to most players at the time that I was growing up with. I had a lot of belief. I had good people around me that really backed me and said that I just needed a good run, I could have a breakout year. So tennis, despite me being sidelined for years on and off, was still always the goal for me.' Usually donning a boxy polo shirt and long shorts with her tattoos – Kartal isn't what you'd expect a stereotypical women's tennis player to look like – and doesn't have the pristine aesthetic widely seen on the WTA Tour. It's refreshing. There's something quite Billie Eilish-esque about the way she dresses and presents herself. She's a little unique and perhaps more relatable for some young girls. After competing on the ITF Circuit in 2021, Kartal made her WTA Tour debut the following year before being handed a Wimbledon wildcard. Her breakthrough came at Wimbledon 2024, becoming Britain's first female qualifier to reach the third round in 27 years at the All England Club. Kartal is notably strong – both physically and mentally – and is able to use deep, penetrating groundstrokes to control rallies during her matches. Due to her strength, her biggest weapon is her forehand, which allows Kartal to dictate points, especially on a grass court where the play is faster. Former Wimbledon finalist and tennis coach Olga Morozova spoke exclusively to Metro about Kartal's best attributes earlier this summer. 'All the British girls know grass much better than anyone else because they started playing on it earlier than others,' Morozova said. 'Kartal is doing very, very good this year. She is strong physically, great legs and she has a good slice which works well on grass.' Kartal stunned 20th-seed and 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in her opening match at Wimbledon this year. The British world No.51 then followed that up with straight-set wins over Bulgarian world No.111 Viktoriya Tomova and French world No.118 Parry. Speaking ahead of her next match, a last-16 battle with Russian world No.50 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Kartal explained how she had learnt lessons from that Wimbledon clash with Gauff 12 months ago. 'I'm not going to lie, I was pretty nervous walking out there,' Kartal said after her win over Parry, in which she was 4-1 down in the first set at one point. 'It's a big court with a match that has a lot of meaning to me. Obviously last year, that was also in the back of my mind, losing to Coco on the same court in the same round. 'I tried to take everything I learnt from that match and put it into play on the court. Tried to relax as best as I could. Having been 4-1 down, I just tried to get back on the scoreboard one by one. 'I think last year's match helped me a lot. I think I left that court last year feeling like I didn't play my best level [in the second set] because of the nerves I was carrying.' For those of you believing it's too farfetched to think Kartal can genuinely land the Venus Rosewater Dish, I'd like to politely remind you that last year's Wimbledon women's singles champion was very much unseeded. More Trending There are also less top players that Kartal will need to deal with should she continue to progress at the tournament. Second-seed Gauff and world No.3 Jessica Pegula crashed out in the first round, as did fifth-seed Zheng Qinwen and world No.9 Paula Badosa to blow the draw wide open. Jasmine Paolini, seeded fourth and last year's runner-up, lost in the second round while world No.6 Madison Keys was eliminated in the third round. It means Kartal has a massive opportunity – and she's ready for whoever is left standing in her way. 'I'm super determined,' Kartal added. 'When I set my mind to something, I want to achieve it. I want to prove to myself that I can do it, as well.' MORE: How an Andy Murray tactic has helped British tennis star's superb Wimbledon run MORE: 'Not the first time' – Carlos Alcaraz overheard making Wimbledon complaint to umpire MORE: Wimbledon day 6 order of play: What time are Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner playing?
GMA Network
3 days ago
- Sport
- GMA Network
Alex Eala joins Germany's Eva Lys in Wimbledon doubles
Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 1, 2025 Philippines' Alexandra Eala in action during her first round match against Czech Republic's Barbora Krejcikova. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville Alex Eala's journey in this year's Wimbledon is not yet over. The Filipina tennis ace partnered with Germany's Eva Lys to compete in the women's doubles tournament. Eala, WTA no. 56, and Lys will open their doubles campaign tonight at 7:10 p.m. against Brazil's Ingrid Martins and American player Quinn Gleason. Lys, currently the world no. 61, is a 23-year old player who made her professional debut in the ITF Circuit in the United States back in 2016, according to the WTA. The German player is also coming off a second round loss against Czech player Linda Noskova in the Wimbledon women's singles tourney last Wednesday. Martins, 28 years old, is the WTA no. 80 in doubles, while the 30-year old Gleason is ranked 70 in doubles, as well. This will also mark Eala's doubles debut in the Wimbledon. —JKC, GMA Integrated News
Reuters
26-01-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Australian Open men's singles champion Jannik Sinner
MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Factbox on Italy's Jannik Sinner, who beat Germany's Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(4) 6-3 in the Australian Open final on Sunday to win his third Grand Slam title: JANNIK SINNER Age: 23 Nation: Italy ATP Ranking: 1 Seeding: 1 Grand Slam titles: 3 (Australian Open 2024, 2025; U.S. Open 2024) ROAD TO FINAL First round: beat Nicolas Jarry (Chile) 7-6(2) 7-6(5) 6-1 Third round: beat Marcos Giron (U.S.) 6-3 6-4 6-2 Fourth round: beat 13-Holger Rune (Denmark) 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2 Quarter-finals: beat 8-Alex de Minaur (Australia) 6-3 6-2 6-1 Semi-finals: beat 21-Ben Shelton (U.S.) 7-6(2) 6-2 6-2 EARLY LIFE * Born in Innichen, northern Italy. * Began playing tennis at age three. CAREER TO DATE * Began his professional career playing on the ITF Circuit in 2018. * Won his first ATP Challenger title in February 2019, becoming the youngest Italian to do so. * Qualified for the main draw of the 2019 U.S. Open but suffered a defeat on his Grand Slam debut to former champion Stan Wawrinka. * Won the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals by upsetting Alex de Minaur in straight sets. Ended the year ranked 78th in the world, winning the ATP Newcomer of the Year award. * Won his first Grand Slam main-draw match at the Australian Open 2020. He reached the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2020 by defeating David Goffin and Alexander Zverev before losing to Rafa Nadal. * Won the 2020 Sofia Open, his first ATP title, and became the youngest Italian to win a tour-level title in the Open Era. Ended the year ranked 37th in the world. * In 2021, he won the Great Ocean Road Open, Citi Open, Sofia Open and European Open and played in the ATP Finals as the first alternate. Ended the year ranked number 10 in the world. * In 2022, he reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and U.S. Open. He lost the latter to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a match that lasted five hours and 15 minutes, the second-longest in the tournament's history. * Reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon 2023 and won his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open. He also reached a career-high ranking of world number four, becoming just the second Italian to reach the top five. * Beat Novak Djokovic in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals before losing to the Serbian in the final. Helped Italy to win the Davis Cup after a gap of 47 years in Nov. 2023. * Beat third seed Daniil Medvedev to win his first Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open. * Tested positive for the steroid clostebol in two samples taken in March 2024 but received no suspension after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) found the positive tests were due to contamination from his physiotherapist. * Became the world's number one ranked player after reaching the French Open semi-finals in June 2024. * Beat 12th seed Taylor Fritz to win his first U.S. Open in September 2024. * Won the Shanghai Masters and finished 2024 with his first ATP Finals crown, beating Fritz in the final on home soil. * Becomes the 11th player in the Open era to retain the Australian Open men's singles title.
