Britain’s
Sonay Kartal is set to get a career-high ranking
after her impressive outing during the ongoing WTA event in Monastir. The
22-year-old, who is the British number four, cemented her spot in the semifinal
after beating Ukraine’s Yulia Starodubtsewa in the quarterfinal in straight
sets with a score of 7-6, 6-2.
With that performance, Kartal, who started the competition
as the world 151, is now set to jump at least 23 spots and cement her place as
the 128th-ranked player in the
WTA rankings. She is now set to face Germany’s
Eva Lys in the last-four clash on Saturday.
The 22-year-old registered her place in the last-four after
beating Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez in the last-eight clash in straight sets with a
score of 7-5, 6-3. It will be the only second meeting between the two in professional
tennis. In the only previous meeting, which was in Birmingham in 2022, it was
Kartal who came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-1.
The London-born, who has not played many WTA tournaments
this season, will be extremely pleased with her performance in the Jasmin Open.
Before coming to Monastir, Kartal’s last appearance in a proper WTA tournament
was at the US Open, where she failed to qualify for the main round. Her journey
ended in the third qualifying round when she lost to Starodubtsewa with a score
of 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. She also played at Wimbledon, where her journey ended once she
lost to America’s Coco Gauff in the third round with a score of 6-4, 6-0.
On the other hand, Lys is also set to break into the top 110
players list in the WTA rankings with her recent performance. She started the competition
as world number 126 and has already gained 16 spots in the live WTA rankings.