By contrast, Qatar seems to be thriving at Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old has achieved impressive growth over the past 12 months and has beaten 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko in the first round, her third victory against the top 20 opponents this year. It was followed by a 6-2 6-2 advantage to power Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova into the third round.
The tattoos and clear retro tennis kit from Kartal are a recognizable presence on the court and seem to enjoy playing on the big stage.
Her path to professional tennis is not a good thing and has to be largely self-sufficient, something she attributes to helping her mature soon.
“When I grew up, I did a lot of games myself just because I couldn’t give my coach every week,” said Kartal.
“I think it’s great. It helped me grow up as a teenager, grow up, mature me and take responsibility for a lot of things.”
The next match for Qatar was against the French qualifier Diane Parry, who beat the 12th seed and 15th-ranked Diana Shnaider to enter the third round.
The third place in the UK is determined to stay in good shape as she hopes to enter the fourth round for the first time.
Qatar added: “I think there is a family grand slam, I think that’s a stage and I really want to be good in front of people who are most important to me, my friends, my family and everyone.”
“Also, it’s not natural for me. I have to really think and adapt to my play style and I think that will help me develop outside of this game, too.”
