18.01.2026 16:11
National tennis player Zeynep Sönmez made history by becoming the first Turkish woman tennis player to win a match in singles at the Australian Open, securing her place in the second round. Sönmez received praise for helping a ball boy who fell ill during the match in which she made history. Our national athlete's act garnered significant attention in the world press.
Zeynep Sönmez advanced to the second round by defeating Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 2-1 in the first grand slam tennis tournament of the season, the Australian Open.
ZEYNEP SÖNMEZ MADE HISTORY
Zeynep, ranked 112th in the women's world rankings, faced 11th seed Alexandrova in the first round of the women's singles at the tournament held in Melbourne.
The 23-year-old national tennis player won the first set 7-5 against Alexandrova, whom she lost to in the 3rd round of Wimbledon last year, despite being 5-2 down and saving two set points.
Zeynep took a 3-1 lead in the second set, which she started by breaking serve, but Alexandrova won the set 6-4 with consecutive games.
In the final set, Zeynep fell behind 3-0 but leveled the score after a 6th game that lasted about 15 minutes. After breaking serves back and forth, Zeynep took a 5-4 lead and won the set 6-4 on her 4th match point, winning the match 2-1 after 2 hours and 37 minutes.
Zeynep, the first Turkish female tennis player to win a match in the main draw of the Australian Open, will face the winner of the match between Anna Bondar (Hungary) and Elizabeth Mandlik (USA) in the second round.
RECEIVED PRAISE FOR HER KINDNESS
During the match where Zeynep Sönmez defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova, one of the ball boys fainted due to the high temperatures in Australia. Noticing the ball boy who fainted during the match, our national athlete went to the child and accompanied him to the sidelines.
While a short break was taken in the match, Zeynep's action received a standing ovation from the stands. Zeynep Sönmez's gesture was also widely covered in the world press.