Tennis player Sonay Kartal from Britain shared that she had to find a place to stay urgently during the Indian Wells tournament. This happened because she had already checked out of her apartment in California before she knew she would qualify for the main competition.
The 23-year-old player initially thought her participation in the BNP Paribas Open was finished when she didn’t make it through the qualifying rounds.
However, due to another player, Sloane Stephens, withdrawing from the tournament, Kartal was given a spot in the main draw.
This sudden change meant Kartal almost had nowhere to stay.
She explained that she had booked an apartment only for the qualifying period. Because of the unexpected qualification, she had to quickly look for accommodation.
She mentioned she was without a place to stay for about 12 hours. However, she also said it was “a good problem to have,” indicating she was happy to be in the tournament despite the temporary housing issue.
Kartal’s journey at Indian Wells has been remarkable, and she is now scheduled to compete against Aryna Sabalenka, the top-ranked player in the world, in the round of 16 on Wednesday.
Previously in the tournament, Kartal won against Varvara Lepchenko in two straight sets in the first round. In the second round, she won against Beatriz Haddad Maia with scores of 6-2, 6-1.
On Monday, she secured another victory against Polina Kudermetova, which advanced her to the fourth round.
After her recent match, she commented that the game might have seemed easier than it actually was.
She added that her strategy was to maintain her serve, make her opponent work for every point, and keep the pressure on the score.
She concluded by saying she remained composed and improved her performance when it was most crucial.
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