One of Sonay Kartal’s 14 tattoos reads “the show must go on”, and it could not be more fitting for her current Wimbledon run.

The British No 3 is into uncharted territory, reaching the fourth round for the first time at a Grand Slam after beating Diane Parry 6-4 6-2 in the Wimbledon third round on Friday.

The 23-year-old, who lives in Brighton and was born in Sidcup, overcame a nervy start to advance on No 1 Court, 12 months on from losing to Coco Gauff on the same stage.

“I was pretty nervous walking out there,” Kartal said. “It’s a big court with a match that has a lot of meaning to me. Obviously last year, that was also in the back of my mind, losing to Coco on the same court in the same round.”

And with the number of Brits dwindling in the singles, the spotlight is firmly on Kartal. “I think it’s an honour,” she added.

“Obviously you’ve got a lot of attention on you, it means you’re doing good things. I’m pretty calm and collected. I don’t think it’s going to affect me too much. I’m still pretty young. It’s my first fourth round.”

Now a place in the quarter-finals is within her grasp, and the world No 51 could grace Centre Court for the first time in her round-of-16 match on Sunday.

Time for a new tattoo?

Kartal admits her “the show must go on” tattoo, one of 14 she has inked, does not particularly relate to any moment in her career.

“I’d like to say it did, but honestly, on that one I just liked the design. My tattoos all started with meaning. Then I guess the more I got, the kind of more spontaneous and braver I got,” she said.

She boasts a paw print on her left arm in tribute to her late golden retriever – “My bed hogger and my best pal,” she said in 2023 – and also has a symbol for bravery on her wrist.

“I lost a lot of matches from playing too safe,” she said last year. “I kind of had enough of losing and was like, I need to change something. If I have it on my wrist, I can see it. It’s a little reminder at change of ends.”

So is it time for tattoo No 15? On Monday, after her terrific opening-round win over Jelena Ostapenko, Kartal said she would get a new one if she reached the second week of Wimbledon.

That moment has arrived. The round of 16 is technically the second week, even if she is playing on Middle Sunday, and she welcomed suggestions on-court when asked after her win over Parry.

“I’ve got a few that are in the line-up,” she also said on Monday, but dismissed the idea of a strawberry. “I wouldn’t get something that obvious. I would get something that people are connected to Wimbledon and understand Wimbledon, they would understand.”

Okay, back to tennis…

From 298th to the top 50

Twelve months ago, Kartal broke her Wimbledon duck, winning her first match here at her third Championships when ranked 298th in the world.

She advanced to the third round, and though she came unstuck against Gauff 6-4 6-4, the run propelled Kartal into the top 200.

Then it got even better. Kartal clinched her maiden WTA title in September, winning the Jasmine Open when beating Rebecca Sramkova in straight sets in Tunisia.

The victory saw Kartal become the 21st British woman to break into the WTA top 100 since 1975, and the ninth in the last 10 years.

Going into 2025, the highlight of her season before Wimbledon was a run to the Indian Wells round of 16, and that combined with a first-ever win at the French Open saw her rise into the top 50.

She has only narrowly dropped out since, currently 51st, but her Wimbledon run means she will reach a career-high ranking once the tournament is over, and is projected to be inside the top 45 as things stand.

Kartal: My go-to karaoke song is…

Away from the court, Kartal admits to being a lover of animals and a big fan of ’90s music, although not necessarily of Oasis.

“I like a few of their songs. I wouldn’t say I’m a hardcore Oasis fan,” she said. “I like a lot of ’90s music, old school, 2000s. I’m pretty versatile, to be honest with you.

“I have never really had one artist that I really like. I’ve never had an artist release an album that I love every single song. I kind of flicker between different songs. I have a bad habit of playing one song, like, 50 times and then absolutely hating it for the rest of the year. I’d say maybe ’90s music is probably my favourite.”

And her go-to karaoke song? Dolly Parton’s “Islands in the Stream”.

Who Kartal faces next at Wimbledon

So can Kartal keep the run going? On Sunday she faces Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a meeting that may well see the Briton grace Centre Court for the very first time.

With a quarter-final place on the line, Kartal will be wary of the experienced Pavlyuchenkova, the 34-year-old who reached the French Open final in 2021 and made the quarter-finals at SW19 in 2016.

Pavlyuchenkova beat Naomi Osaka in the third round on Friday, battling back from a set down to beat the four-time Grand Slam champion 3-6 6-4 6-4.

Pavlyuchenkova is ranked one place above Kartal in 50th, and has 12 career singles titles, also winning Olympic gold in the mixed doubles at Tokyo 2020.

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