"My vision was blinded" - Wimbledon star Sonay Kartal blames her own height after shocking Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova controversy

British tennis player Sonay Kartal blamed her height after the Electric Line Calling (ELC) malfunction controversy during her Wimbledon Round of 16 game against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Kartal eventually lost the clash in straight sets 6-7(3), 4-6.

This malfunction occurred in the first set with the score at 4-4. Kartal hit a backhand, which was seen to be out of the court and was also clearly visible in the screen replay. However, due to a tech problem, no call was made from the ELC, owing to which umpire Nico Helwerth ordered the point to be replayed.

The decision suited the Brit quite well as she went on to win the point to make it 5-4 in her favor. However, 34-year-old Pavlyuchenkova came back in the set, forcing it into a tie-break and winning it 7-3.

Speaking in a post-match interview after the defeat, Kartal said that due to her short height, her vision was blinded and that she couldn't see where the ball dropped. She said:

"It’s unfortunate for me. I’m quite short. So where the net tape is, a lot of the time I lose my vision so I can’t look over the baseline. But from where I was, I couldn’t see. From my point, I felt like I hit the backhand clean. Maybe I have to look at the replay. My vision was kind of blinded..."

Barring the singles format, Sonay Kartal and her doubles partner Jodie Anna Burrage were also eliminated from the Wimbledon Championships on Saturday, July 5. They lost to the duo of Beatriz Haddad Maia and Laura Siegemund in straight sets.

---

Sonay Kartal explains how she copes with her lack of height on the tennis court

Sonay Kartal at Wimbledon 2025 (Image via: Getty)

Sonay Kartal recently explained how she deals with her lack of height on the tennis court. Kartal at 5'4 has one of the shortest heights in the women's draw of Wimbledon 2025.

Kartal shared that due to her lack of long limbs, she focuses mainly on her pace and fast movements on the court. The Brit also mentioned that this is something she has been working on since her youth. She said (via BBC):

"I've obviously not got the long limbs so I have got to make up for it with speed around the court. It's something I've worked on growing up. I knew I wasn't going to reach the court with my long strides so I just had to be super-fast."

Sonay Kartal also added that she is highly inspired by the success of Jasmine Paolini, who also isn't very tall.