Emma Raducanu surprised the tennis world when she won the US Open at the age of 18 in 2021. The Briton became the first qualifier in history to land a Grand Slam trophy as she got the better of Leylah Fernandez in the showpiece match at Flushing Meadows.

And her shock win became a huge inspiration for her British rival Sonay Kartal, who is now aiming to leapfrog Raducanu in the WTA rankings. Kartal was ranked just inside the top 300 in July 2024, but rose to a career-high of 44 after this year’s edition of Wimbledon. She is now ranked at No. 70 but wants to break into the top 30.

Kartal’s rise in tennis has looked very different to Raducanu’s. She was ranked outside the top 1,000 when Raducanu won the US Open and had never even featured in the main draw of a Grand Slam away from Wimbledon at the start of 2025.

But the Brighton-based star is beginning to make a name for herself on the WTA circuit and reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in July after progressing to the same stage at Indian Wells four months earlier.

And discussing Raducanu’s US Open title-winning endeavours, the 24-year-old told The Telegraph: “Obviously we watched it and it was an incredible couple of weeks for her. It gave us all a bit of extra firepower and just the proof that anything is possible.

“It was super inspiring to watch someone that you’ve grown up with, that you were playing under-9 nationals with, lift the US Open trophy.”

Kartal’s run at Wimbledon saw her progress deeper into the tournament than Raducanu, with the former Grand Slam champion seeing her trophy aspirations ended by Aryna Sabalenka in the third round.

But Raducanu has been more consistent than her compatriot across the season and reached the third round at the Australian Open and the US Open, while Kartal fell at the first hurdle on both occasions. Meanwhile, both players exited the French Open at the second-round stage.

As a result of her efforts on the court, Raducanu is ranked at No. 29. But she could soon find her position as the British No. 1 coming under pressure, with Kartal adding: “I’d like to see myself breaking into the top 30.”

Kartal also opened up about her experience of Wimbledon this year after being given the opportunity to play on Centre Court during her fourth-round defeat against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

The Briton explained: “It was a dream come true, that tournament and also that experience. I have pictures of me watching Wimbledon, and to walk out onto that court was a huge dream.”