Britain's Sonay Kartal wins as women return to Queen's Club
10-Jun-2025 02:47 PM 7455
London, June 10 (Reporter) Britain's Sonay Kartal secured the biggest win of her career as women's tennis returned to Queen's Club for the first time since 1973. The 23-year-old secured a superb 6-1 3-6 6-3 win over world number 16 Daria Kasatkina of Australia to start her grass-court season on a high. It is the first time a women's tournament has been held at the iconic venue since 1973, when Olga Morozova lifted the trophy. Queen's has been a mainstay on the men's calendar and a WTA 500 event has been added this year in an attempt to raise the profile of the women's game and increase the visibility of the sport. Come Sunday, the trophy will finally have a new name on it, with world number seven Zheng Qinwen, Australian Open champion Madison Keys and 2022 Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina among the top seeds competing in the capital, the BBC reported. Fellow Briton Jodie Burrage missed the chance to set up a meeting with doubles partner Kartal in the second round as she lost 6-4 3-6 6-4 to eighth seed Amanda Anisimova. World number 162 Burrage started well but struggled in an error-strewn second set, before battling back from 3-0 down in the decider. However, mistakes at crucial moments allowed world number 15 Anisimova to regain her advantage and and ultimately serve out the match. Meanwhile, British pair Katie Boulter and Emma Raducanu overcame China's Jiang Zinyu and Wu Fang-hsien 6-4 6-2 on their maiden outing as a doubles partnership on a packed Court One. It could be an all-British affair in the quarter-finals should Britons Burrage and Kartal overcome top seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Erin Routliffe on Tuesday. Britain's Kartal has enjoyed a remarkable rise in the past 12 months, moving from outside the top 250 to a career-high of 50 in the world. Cheered on by a packed partisan crowd, Kartal dominated the opening set against Kasatkina before the Australian bounced back in the second set to level proceedings. But it was an impressive response from the Briton, who beamed after slamming down a forehand winner to seal victory. "The nerves hit me a little but to be able to play on this court with you guys cheering me on it was a super special moment," said Kartal. "The last few months I've played bigger tournaments so I'm handling the bigger occasions better. "But I'm going at my own pace in this crazy sport...////...
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