Sonay Kartal set to get career-high spot in WTA rankings after cementing Jasmin Open semifinal berth

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.