Sonay Kartal Looking Forward to Shrewsbury Return

PIctured: Sonay Kartal, pictured with her UK Pro League title that she won at the Shrewsbury Club in 2021, is hoping for more success when she returns for the ITF Lexus W100 Shrewsbury next week. Picture by Richard Dawson

Sonay Kartal is one of two Brits who are in the main draw just under a week away from the start of the ITF World Tour Lexus W100 Shrewsbury. Sonay can expect to be joined by at least four other Brits when the wild cards are announced ahead of the main draw on Monday night at a Sponsors and Players Paella Party, sponsored by local companies, Lanyon Bowdler and Sales Geek Shropshire. Kartal has good memories of playing on the indoor courts at the The Shrewsbury Club, having won the UK Pro League in Shrewsbury in 2021 and she also played in the W100 the following year.

Looking forward to returning, Kartal said: “Shrewsbury for me is the tournament that sticks in my head quite a lot. I’ve played a lot of tournaments and it’s one that I definitely remember playing from 2022. It’s the tournament where I really kick-started into the professional scene so for me, I have pretty vivid memories from when I started on the professional tour.

“The team there run it so well for players and spectators and really make it a big event. They go above and beyond to put on fun things for everyone and I think it’s super exciting for us British players. It’s not often we get to compete on British soil, so we’re all looking forward to it.” 

Kartal is set to be seeded four, with Slovakian player Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who recently faced world number one Iga Swiatek in the bronze medal match at the Olympics, seeded five.

The other Brit already in the main draw is Heather Watson, a regular member of Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team, this will be Watson's first return to the Club since she was a Shrewsbury finalist in 2011, beaten by German player Mona Barthel, who also returns to The Shrewsbury Club to play in this year’s event.

A strong entry of international stars is heading to Shropshire, led by three players in the world’s top 100. Nuria Parrizas-Diaz from Spain and Arantxa Rus from the Netherlands are ranked 81 and 82 respectively, with French player Oceane Dodin, twice a Shrewsbury champion earlier in her career, currently 91 in the world.