kartal tennis produced a dramatic fightback as Britain’s Sonay Kartal saved a match point and battled through a medical timeout to beat Emma Navarro 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2) in her second-round match at Indian Wells. Kartal, 24, lost power in her game after “a bit of a twitch” in her back and sought treatment mid-match before digging deep to win the final-set tie-break. She advances to play American Madison Keys in the last 32 and said she is “super proud” of how she fought through the match.
Kartal Tennis: comeback, injury and the decisive moments
Kartal raced through the opening set but surrendered the second after calling for a medical timeout for a back issue she described as “a bit of a twitch. ” In the tight third set the American former top-10 player twice served for the match, only for Kartal to break back and force a tie-break. Kartal saved a match point, then dropped just two points in the tie-break to close out the victory 7-6 (7-2). The scoreline recorded in the match was 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2).
The win follows Kartal’s straight-sets first-round victory over Lanlana Tararudee earlier in the tournament, and it moves her into a last-32 clash with Madison Keys. Kartal acknowledged the physical scare on court, saying, “I think I just landed a bit funny on serve and had a bit of a twitch in my back. That made me lose a lot of power, I was struggling to generate anything off my shots. I had to dig deep. ” She added that she will rest and assess the condition before the next match: “I’ll wait a few hours and see what the come down is but I’ll rest up and do everything I can to be ready for the next match. “
Turning points, reactions and broader day at Indian Wells
On-court emotion from Kartal underlined the match’s swing moments. “I am just super proud of how I fought through that, ” Kartal said in her on-court interview, noting that it would have been easy to give up. The match featured a late reversal as Navarro twice held match-point-like positions but could not close the match.
Other winners on the day included the defending women’s champion Mirra Andreeva, who opened her campaign with a 6-0, 6-0 victory and described shifting winds that made conditions tricky. Iga Swiatek progressed after a straight-sets win that included a second-set tie-break, and Elena Rybakina also moved through after a three-set win, calling it a “really tough match” and expressing satisfaction at securing the victory. On the men’s side Jack Draper recovered from a set down to record a three-set win as he continues his return to tour action.
What comes next for Kartal and the tournament
With the win Kartal advances to face Madison Keys in the last 32; she has signalled caution over her back and plans to rest and monitor the issue before that next challenge. Kartal emphasised her mental approach as decisive: “I think I’m pretty calm and cool under pressure so I’m pretty good at blocking out the score and just concentrating on each point, ” she said, adding that enjoying the environment helps her tennis. Expect Kartal to undergo recovery steps and a fitness check in the hours following the match as she prepares for the next round of the event.
kartal tennis now carries momentum into the tournament’s middle rounds, but her immediate focus is recovery and readiness for the match against Madison Keys in the last 32.
