‘Helpless’ Kartal among four Brits to exit US Open

US Open 2025

Dates: August 24 through September 7 in Flushing Meadows, New York

Sonay Kartal, a British player, was left feeling “helpless” after being eliminated from the US Open first round.

Beatriz Haddad Maia, the 18th seeded seed in Brazil, defeated Kartal 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, with crippling cramp.

The 27th seeded by Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk defeated Katie Boulter, while the qualifier Francesca Jones was defeated by Germany’s Eva Lys, and the lucky loser, Billy Harris, was dethroned by Canadian 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

It was difficult,” he said. It was a little strange for me to lose a match to cramp before, which is how Kartal, 23, made her New York main draw debut.

A limping Kartal led 3-0 in a bizarre deciding set before receiving a lifeline when cramping also hindered Haddad Maia’s movement.

In the testing environment, both players refused to give in, but the points quickly dipped and slowed.

Haddad Maia couldn’t walk and lost her serve, which was 3-1, thanks to the vocal support of a boisterous group of Brazilian fans, who gave her a remarkable victory.

Kartal has had knee problems in recent months, saying that the knee injury did not contribute to her physical issues. She ran to the Wimbledon final 16 with strapping on her right leg.

The British number three also believes there were no pre-match nerves prior to her main-draw debut, despite the hotter conditions at Flushing Meadows.

She claimed shortly after the match that she had a suspicion that her salt and electrolytes intake was to blame.

The issue was resolved by drinking a replenishing mineral drink during the deciding set, which she claimed “didn’t taste nice.”

Kartal, who is ranked 51st in the world, said, “I think I’ve fuelled well over the past few days and kept hydrated. “I’ll have to look at everything I ate and drank and see if I need to make changes.”

It is difficult when everything is locking up and you have to remove your thumb from the racquet to let go.

Boulter was a seeded player at Flushing Meadows at the time last year, but after a difficult season, he is now in danger of dropping out of the top 50.

The powerful baseliner, who has never advanced to the second week of a major, struggled at times in her 6-4,6-4 victory over Kostyuk, which seemed to indicate her lack of form.

Boulter claimed she had regained her “buzz” despite only having won once in her previous eight matches.

After taking “days off” from the sport following the Canadian Open last month, Boulter thought she had found a new perspective.

She said, “You can look at the results and think she’s having a tough time, but I’m actually really excited.”

I think I lost it in Montreal a few weeks ago, which is a pivotal moment in my career.

In the middle of the US hard-court swing, there was a complete reset, and I believe I’m headed in the right direction.

Kostyuk made it through the match and gushed in awe of relief.

After that, Boulter attributed the changes to her serve she has been attempting to make.

Boulter, who was broken four times, continued, “I’m trying to find rhythm and don’t fully commit to the serve I’m going for.”

“At this point, it won’t be done by placing the serve in the court.”

On the other side of the court, I did well to match Marta and did well to return. It was a fairly competitive match given my form.

British number four Jones made her main draw debut despite qualifying through, but was defeated by 59th-ranked Lys with a 6:0, 7-5 defeat.

After winning two titles on the second-tier WTA 125 Tour after winning at Wimbledon, Jones, 24, has moved up to 86th place in the rankings.

However, Lys’s maneuvering and forcing her to make mistakes at the rallies served as a reminder of how high she must go.

After suffering withdrawals in the final qualifying round, Harris, 30, resigned and made it to the main draw. He did so well against Auger-Alissiame, a 2021 semi-finalist.