British tennis star forced to miss Wimbledon as statement issued | Tennis | Sport

British tennis star Sonay Kartal has confirmed she will miss Wimbledon and the rest of the grass court season due to a stress fracture. The world No.62 has not played since Indian Wells in March where she stunned top-20 seeds Emma Navarro and Madison Keys, saving a match point against Navarro.

But her run in the Californian desert ended in retirement against Elena Rybakina after injuring her back. The 24-year-old has subsequently missed the entire clay-court season, including Roland Garros, and was targeting a return during the grass-court season with Brimingham on May 30 the first scheduled British event.

However, Kartal has now confirmed in an Instagram post that she will not be able to play any grass tournaments in 2026. It means the Brit is set to lose a large chunk of points having reached the fourth round at SW19 last year.

She said: “Hey everyone. The last 3 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

“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.

“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.”

Other notable grass court events on the calender include Queens with the women’s event, featuring British No.1 Emma Raducanu, begining on June 8 before the men play on June 15. Halle in Bremen, Germany is another well attended tournament with the ATP 500 also starting on June 15.