AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 17, 2026

Sonay Kartal

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to Melbourne. A good start to the year in Auckland. How has your preparation been going?

SONAY KARTAL: Yeah, obviously Auckland was pretty successful I would say. Yeah, got here a few days ago. And yeah, obviously liking the courts. They are super lively. The wind has been nice to me actually as well.

No, I feel good. I'm kind of at the point now where I'm ready to just to get going now. I just want to get started.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. How do you think about the match like the one against Elina. So many good things about it, but it was also a painful loss.

SONAY KARTAL: Yeah, it was a stinger to say the least. I played that match and I did so many things right. Sometimes you come off court and you think how did I lose when everything was so positive, like you said.

I was happy at the start of the year I can find that level I did there. So I took a lot of positives from that match. As I said, it absolutely stung. But the fact I'm here has helped me get over that quicker.. Yeah, I think I played exactly how I wanted to start the year and all the things I have been working on I managed to put in that performance. Overall I was happy with it, despite the outcome.

Q. Is it good to have a match like that before a slam, if you at least see yourself in that situation again, you know what to do differently?

SONAY KARTAL: Obviously everyone's level, you never know how everyone is going to be first slam of the year. People haven't had too many matches under their belt.

Coming into this year having you know had a lengthy time off with injuries and stuff, and pre-season I took off longer than I was going to.

So I think, yeah, to be able to get some wins under my belt and feel that confident on the court fast is only going to help me this week.

Q. Tell us what was going on with your body and your schedule. Was it unusual because you did so well in Beijing, didn't play, then popped up in Limoges?

SONAY KARTAL: It was unexpected for me as well. Last minute after Beijing decided to. I had a few niggles that was going on throughout the year. Nothing stopping me stepping on a court. But I wanted to try my best and to nip them in the bud.

It was more like tendon issues, obviously they take longer time to get better and get strong. So I made my decision to start there, start training, start my pre-season early.

The reason to go to Limoges was to see how my body was after all that rehabbing. And obviously aware I haven't played since October, so I wanted to go there, see how my body was, see how I was moving on court, and anything did I need to tweak in pre-season. Yeah, that was the reasoning.

Q. How did you feel when you got to Limoges?

SONAY KARTAL: Yeah, I felt good. Everything held up well. I felt like I was moving on court good. I felt strong on court. I think the rehab went well. The pre-season went very well as well.

Q. That's quite a wise decision to stop when you have those niggles. Is that something you decided yourself or your team?

SONAY KARTAL: Yeah, it was obviously tempting to get back onto court and keep going because I had been going for a few months with those injuries anyway. I was aware I could crack on and keep going.

But I think it's a heck of a season. It's a long one. So I wanted to, yeah, had to kind of fight the urge to not give in and get back on court.

But yeah, you know, I had input from other people. They were advising me. But ultimately at the end of the day, they were going to back what decision I made. I think it paid off. Like I said, I'm starting the year feeling fresh and pretty good.

Q. What do you make of your draw?

SONAY KARTAL: Obviously a tough draw. Everyone in this tournament is tough. Yeah, obviously I know exactly how she plays. She's a big hitter.

I think the courts suit me. Yeah, it will be obviously a tough match but it will an interesting match. I think it's one I have played quite a few big hitters now. Obviously Ostapenko last year at Wimbledon. So I know exactly what to expect. Yeah, I'm fired up and ready to go for that one.

Q. I know it's a while ago now, but the run in Beijing, what did that do for you in terms of what you believe you could achieve potentially?

SONAY KARTAL: Yeah, last year I had snippets where I went second week into tournament. That's what I want to do more this year, is be more consistent and go deeper in the second weeks.

I think it was those weeks, I had first top-10 win and another top 20-win. I felt like I was playing, you know, almost... It was one of them weeks where you feel everything is working for you.

So I think it was proving I do have the level, it's just, yeah, showing obviously consistency is tough. The level is there, it's just can I keep it up. . Yeah, it was a great week and it was, again, another positive week in the right direction.

Q. Do you generally like the windy conditions?

SONAY KARTAL: I've grown up with it my whole life. Yeah, I'm certainly used to it. And I think with my game style I can, you know, I don't go for hard winners straight printed on the line.

Yeah, my game style does help in the wind, and I play with a lot of margin as well. So it's not something that I wake up and I see it is a 30-mile-an-hour wind, it's certainly not something that I'm upset about. It's kind of almost the opposite.

Q. You were meant to play Hobart, or thinking about it. Is there a reason you didn't go?

SONAY KARTAL: I know the courts are very different. I kind of wanted to come here because I know they're a bit faster. I think Auckland, the courts were super slow.

Yeah, I wanted to get used to the courts here quicker and spend a bit more time taking care in the prep leading up to this event because ultimately this one is bigger than Hobart. So that was the reason for that.