"A lot of girls are getting more comfortable" - Why Wimbledon wonder Sonay Kartal is proud about her body transformation & muscular build

Sonay Kartal has been making headlines at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships as the only British woman to reach the fourth round this year. Her success is a result of the hard work she’s put into improving not just her game but also her physical conditioning.

The past couple of years have marked a turning point for Kartal. She clinched her maiden WTA title at the Jasmin Open and broke into the world’s Top 100 for the first time. Her current performance at Wimbledon stands as her deepest run at a Grand Slam so far.

The Brit’s dedication to fitness has played a huge role in her recent success. Standing at 5'4", she developed her strong, muscular frame during the COVID-19 lockdowns, when she first started training just to pass the time. What began as a casual routine quickly turned into a serious passion, as she revealed to the Daily Express:

“I used to hate fitness back in the day. Lockdown happened, I had nothing to do, I turned to it as a bit of an escape, as something to do for a bit of fun.”

She added:

“I absolutely loved it. I took it as a bit of like an escape, so then when tennis started to kick back in, it was not a chore at all, I loved it and I'd go to the gym and just kind of have a bit of me time and stick my headphones in and just forget about the world.”

Sonay Kartal had a strong message for girls in sport, saying no one should tell them how they’re supposed to look. She was also happy to see that more female tennis players today are embracing strength and building muscle without worrying about outdated beauty standards or societal expectations.

“I think it's changing, now a lot of girls are getting more comfortable with having more muscle on their body, which is incredible," she said.

“I don't think anyone should feel like girls have to look a certain way, that's changing in tennis as well. You look at the tennis players, everyone's all different physiques and sizes and heights. So, it's definitely getting more versatile, but, I mean, if I can inspire kids, whether that's boys, girls, whatever, then I'm obviously doing something good," she added.

Kartal also opened up about her goal to influence more people to get into fitness, especially her sister's children.

Sonay Kartal hopes to inspire her nieces and nephew to embrace fitness and sport

Sonay Kartal pictured at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships | Image Source: Getty

Sonay Kartal shared that she hopes to inspire more people to embrace fitness, starting close to home, with her older sister’s kids. Though they are not particularly sporty, she’s making an effort to get them moving and spark an interest in staying active.

"My sister's kids aren't the sportiest, but I'm trying to get them into it," Kartal told the Daily Express. "I don't think they're going to be the next best tennis player, but if I can get them into some sport, whatever that is, I think that will help them massively.”

The Brit also hopes her nieces and nephew will be able to watch her in person when she takes on Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the fourth round at Wimbledon on Sunday, July 6, after cheering her on from afar so far.

"Their school has been really sweet, they've set up projectors in their classrooms so they’ve all been watching it and all the kids have done posters," the 23-year-old said.

With British hopes Emma Raducanu and Katie Boulter exiting SW19 in the second and third rounds, respectively, Sonay Kartal now has a golden opportunity ahead of her. A win against Pavlyuchenkova to reach the quarterfinals would see her become the new British No. 1.