Sonay Kartal’s father owns a kebab shop, she loves tattoos and she wears retro baggy white – the rising British talent is the most unlikely star of Wimbledon, writes Matthew Lambwell

Look back at the career of every tennis player and there is a sliding doors moment when, without the knowledge of them at the time, their lives changes course.

For Sonay Kartal, that moment came at the age of six. “So at my club we did this thing called The Lines Game,” she begins. “It’s like a small warming. They screamed “service line” or “tram line” and all children had to run to that line.

‘That was always the first match and I was too shy for three months to actually get to court. The coach, Julie, finally managed to get me on the field, I tried to run, stumbled, burst into tears, I left and did not come back for a few months. ‘

So that could have been. But coach Julie Hobbs worked away on the shy little girl until she finally returned and took the first step on a yellow bricks that led all the way to the center of the court. On Saturday afternoon, Kartal will open the procedure on the most August-Arena of Tennis, which first appeared in the fourth round of a Grand Slam. If she can pass the Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, she becomes the British NO1.

And look from the stands are Hobbs and Ben Reeves, who coached Kartal together from her very first days in the Pavilion and Avenue Tennis Club in Hove all the way to the top 50 in the world.

“When I first appeared on the Tour, people said,” Do you think you should get a coach who has already done it? ” But I didn’t want that at all, “says Kartal. ‘I have coaches who brought me from a six-year-old to the WTA tour-I think they show that they know what they are talking about. We both just learned together. We do this crazy thing together. ‘

She comes from a modest background, trained in a normal gym and is shorter than others

Kartal was held on the coach she had when she was only six years old – Julie Hobbs, left

It is really crazy – wonderful like that. There are so many reasons why Kartal should not have been a tennis player: she does not come from the traditional tennis heart country of Greater London and the Home Counties. She is 5ft 4 in a game where height is. She comes from a modest background, the daughter of a Turkish restaurantur.

That not only makes her heart -warming, but also important. Every victory here has been a victory for the outsider; A Clarion call to those who feel excluded from the gilded gates of British tennis.

The coordinated arms with which she generates a huge amount of top spider also feel important, at a time when AI images of the ‘perfect’ female body flood the internet.

“I think many girls feel more comfortable to have more muscles on their bodies,” says Kartal. ‘I don’t think anyone feels that girls should look in a certain way and I think that also changes to tennis – everyone is all different physique and sizes and heights.

“If I can inspire children, whether that is boys, girls, that’s good.”

Even with those muscles there is a sliding door. “I wasn’t always strong,” says Kartal. ‘I used to hate the fitness in the past, but lockdown happened and I had nothing to do.

‘I turned it as a bit of an escape, something to do for a bit of fun. I had no crazy weights or something (she was 19 at the time of the first lockdown), so it was only for running or body weight and I thought it was absolutely great.

“So if the weather opened, I would go to the gym, put my headphones in and just forget the world.”

Kartal hires the Russian veteran Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Saturday afternoon

She still lives in her parental home in Brighton and was a late bloomer in terms of noted

In typical Kartal mode, her gym was just a normal budget with a high street chain. With a minimal injection of £ 250,000 on her bank account after these two weeks, Kartal can certainly afford something exclusive – and given its rising profile that could be wise.

“Yes, it was a bit tricky rather, so I think I have to move,” she says unfortunately. ‘But to be honest, they were actually pretty respectful there, they would just say hello and let me continue. So maybe I have to test that when I’m back. ‘

Despite all this week’s miracle, people feel like Kartal is looking forward to returning to Brighton, where she still lives in the parental home.

Her father moved from Turkey and opened two restaurants – a kebab collection meals and a restaurant. Kartal would sometimes eat there – but never ventured into the kitchens. “Unfortunately I am not a very good cook,” she says. “He would certainly not have me there.”

It was in one of those Turkish restaurants when the first ties between Kartal and the Lawn Tennis Association were formed. An LTA employee was there in a meal, Mr Kartal saw him and said words to the effect of: “You should look at my girl.”

But it was only really in 2021 that Kartal was completely embraced by the national setup. Until she was 13 she was also a lot of football and cricket. She was always in front of football; In cricket she just hit the net.

“To be honest, cricket, I was only good because of tennis,” says Kartal. ‘I played left -handed and it was just back, launched it as far as I could.

‘I was a little tomboy and super sporty, I loved football. I always went to my local park with my father and just kick the ball around. I thought it was absolutely great. ‘

You get the feeling that this itself described ‘Tomboy’ and Cricket lover is on track for the top

When I first met Kartal when she came to the Tour, she didn’t say much. She came politely because of her press conferences, but as soon as possible. It was a bit like the six -year -old who was too shy to take the court for the line match.

But as her game has developed, her self -confidence has that way. Maybe she also started to realize how interesting she is; How cool is she.

Her flowering, retro adidas kit that quickly becomes iconic; her 14 tattoos with even more coming; The Turkish restaurants, the two coaches who have been completely with her – nothing of this is normal.

Here at Wimbledon she stands out like a sore thumb; A thumb raised to the tennis highway and lifts a lift to the top.