Britain’s Sonay Kartal reached her first WTA Tour final after Eva Lys retired through illness in Saturday’s Jasmin Open semi-final.
Kartal came through qualifying in Monastir and has enjoyed a career-best week, which could culminate in her maiden main tour title when she takes on Rebecca Sramkova in the final on Sunday.
Kartal, a former junior rival of Emma Raducanu, was only on court for 24 minutes before German Lys called it a day trailing 5-1.
The 22-year-old from Brighton will now aim to join Katie Boulter as a British WTA Tour winner this season, while victory would see Kartal break into the top 100 for the first time.
“Obviously no-one wants to win a match like that,” said Kartal. “She’s a super nice girl, which makes it even tougher. Obviously I’m happy to be in the final but it’s definitely not the way I would have liked to have won today.”
It will also be a first WTA Tour final for Slovakian Sramkova, and Kartal added: “I’m sure we’re both going to be feeling a bit heavy, we’re both going to be a bit nervous, but ultimately it will be who can put on the best performance on the big stage.”
It has been a standout summer for Kartal, who reached the third round of Wimbledon as a qualifier before winning two lower-tier tournaments in the UK and making the final round of qualifying at the US Open.
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
Great Britain's Cameron Norrie fought from a set down to reach the third round at Indian Wells but top seed Alexander Zverev was d
His coach Brad Stine says that these types of big goals are what keeps the New Jersey native motivated. “There are still a lot of things within the sport tha
The latest setback for Nick Kyrgios has the Australian tennis player wondering aloud about his future. A nagging wrist injury forced an emotional Kyrgios to r
The 2025 Indian Wells tournament is well underway as the stars of the WTA Tour search for success in the Californian desert.Several top stars will believe they