‘Very excited’ Sonny Kartal announces when she will return to tennis after six-month absence

It has been a difficult year for British star Sonay Kartal.

The Briton enjoyed an excellent 2025 campaign on the WTA circuit, reaching the Wimbledon fourth round and rising to world number 44.

The 2026 campaign has been the polar opposite, as Kartal has struggled to move past a troubling back injury.

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The 24-year-old last competed at Indian Wells in March. After defeating Lanlana Tararudee, Emma Navarro and Madison Keys, Kartal was forced to retire injured against Elena Rybakina.

On Monday, Kartal announced her long-awaited return to competitive play.

Sonay Kartal announces return to tennis

"Very excited to say I'll be returning to competitive tennis this month," Kartal said in an Instagram post.

"Proud of all the hard work I've put in to get to this point and very excited to be heading into this new era as an official Under Armour ambassador.

"Time to get to work."

Kartal will hope to bounce back quickly upon her return to tournament play. After all, the British star has fallen to world number 124 since March.

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Kartal is yet to confirm the WTA event at which she will make her return.

The WTA Tour schedule

Guadalajara Open: September 13 – 19

Sao Paulo Open: September 14 to 20

Singapore Open: September 21 to 27

Korea Open: September 21 to 27

China Open: September 30 to October 11

Sonay Kartal's 2025 Wimbledon run

Few expected Sonay Kartal to pull up trees at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.

The British star was a clear outsider for the title and had yet to truly establish herself on the Grand Slam stage.

Kartal refused to let her past major performances define her 2025 Wimbledon campaign.

The British star began her run by stunning 2017 Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Kartal, who won 71 per cent of her first-serve points, triumphed 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 on Court Three.

The then-23-year-old then comfortably defeated Viktoriya Tomova, 6-2, 6-2.

Diane Parry was the next player to fall victim to Kartal's excellent form, losing 4-6, 2-6 to the Brit.

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Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a former Grand Slam semi-finalist, ended Kartal's run in south-west London.

The Russian triumphed 7-6, 6-4, despite falling victim to an electronic line call failure.

Kartal struggled to locate her best form after Wimbledon, losing three consecutive matches in Cincinnati, Cleveland and New York.

She bounced back emphatically from these disappointments at the China Open, reaching the quarter-finals.

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