Sonay Kartal has confirmed she will miss the entire grass court season including Wimbledon.
Kartal is the current British number two, with Emma Raducanu the only player from Great Britain ranked higher than the world number 62 on the WTA Tour.
However, Kartal has not played a match since Indian Wells, where she retired from her match against Elena Rybakina due to a back injury.
This injury forced Kartal to miss the entire clay court season including Roland Garros, and the 24-year-old has now confirmed that she will also miss her home Grand Slam of Wimbledon.
Sonay Kartal releases statement after pulling out of Wimbledon
In a statement on Instagram, Kartal revealed that she has seen ‘no big improvements’ with her back injury and will therefore have to miss the entire grass court season, including Wimbledon.
Kartal wrote, “Hey everyone. The last three months have been tough for my back, with no big improvements yet allowing me to be back on the court without any limitations. Really tried everything to avoid being in this situation.
“This has been the toughest challenge in my career so far and knowing it means I’ll miss the grass season is honestly, well it hurts me a lot (crying emoji).
“Stress fractures are very unforgiving and can’t be rushed, so now it’s about taking the time it needs to heal and come back to tour when it’s healthy and ready for battle. Karts 2.0 (soon emoji).
“Thank you to everyone who’s been sending kind messages. As for Wimbledon… damn, this one hurts the most. Looks like I’ll have to wait and see you around the grounds instead this year.”
Kartal received many messages of support, including from her compatriot Katie Boulter, who said, “Noooo (crying emoji). Big hug. 2.0 will be stronger than ever (love heart emoji).”
Sonay Kartal confirmed to drop outside the top 100 after Wimbledon withdrawal
Not only will Kartal be missing her home Grand Slam, but this is also going to have a detrimental impact on her ranking.
Kartal achieved her best Grand Slam result at Wimbledon last year after she reached the fourth round.
As a result, Kartal is confirmed to be dropping 240 points from her Wimbledon run last year, which is over a quarter of her ranking total.
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Kartal will be dropping a total of 371 ranking points from Roland Garros and grass court tournaments including Wimbledon, and therefore is expected to drop outside the top 120.
This means that Kartal would not be able to enter the main draw of the US Open, but she would be entitled to a protected ranking if she is away from the WTA Tour until at least September.
