British tennis player Sonay Kartal has announced her return to competitive tennis after a six-month absence due to a back injury. The 24-year-old, who previously enjoyed a successful 2025 season reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon and achieving a career-high ranking of world number 44, faced significant challenges throughout 2026.
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Kartal last competed in March 2026 at the Indian Wells tournament, where she recorded wins against Lanlana Tararudee, Emma Navarro, and Madison Keys before being forced to retire due to injury against Elena Rybakina. After months of recovery and rehabilitation, she expressed her excitement about returning to the sport through an Instagram post, stating, "Very excited to say I’ll be returning to competitive tennis this month," and noted her pride in her hard work during her absence.
As a new ambassador for Under Armour, Kartal is looking forward to this next phase of her career. Since her last match, she has dropped to world number 124 and is eager to regain her form.
While she has yet to confirm which WTA event will mark her return, several tournaments are scheduled soon, including the Guadalajara Open (September 13-19), Sao Paulo Open (September 14-20), Singapore Open (September 21-27), Korea Open (September 21-27), and the China Open (September 30-October 11).
Kartal's 2025 Wimbledon performance was notable; she started her campaign as an underdog but made headlines by defeating former Grand Slam champion Jelena Ostapenko, before ultimately losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the fourth round. Following Wimbledon, she struggled with her performance in subsequent tournaments but managed to reach the quarter-finals at the China Open.