18.01.2026 15:11
National tennis player Zeynep Sönmez advanced to the second round of the Australian Open by defeating world number 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova, making history with this achievement.
In the season's first Grand Slam tournament, the Australian Open, national tennis player Zeynep Sönmez, who advanced from the qualifiers to the main draw, achieved one of the biggest victories of her career by defeating world number 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, and secured her place in the second round of the tournament. While Zeynep is ranked 112th in the WTA rankings, the experienced player Alexandrova has seen deeper rounds in Grand Slams and entered the court as the world number 11. In the first set of the match, Sönmez displayed aggressive passing play and solid serving performance against Alexandrova. She put pressure on Alexandrova with hard and deep shots. Zeynep Sönmez came back from 2-5 down in the first set against Alexandrova, saving two set points and winning the first set 7-5.
FIRST TURKISH WOMAN TENNIS PLAYER TO ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND
Sönmez started the second set by breaking serve. Alexandrova's counterattacks and rallies caused Sönmez to make consecutive short errors. Towards the end of the set, Alexandrova became more aggressive on short balls and won this set 6-4, bringing the sets to a tie.
In the final set, Sönmez was the one who effectively capitalized on break opportunities and disrupted her opponent's serves with aggressive returns at crucial moments. Despite her experience, Alexandrova struggled to respond to Sönmez's pace, and Sönmez closed the deciding set with a score of 6-4. With this victory, Zeynep became the first Turkish woman tennis player to advance to the second round in singles at the Australian Open. Sönmez will play against the winner of the match between Anna Bondar and Elizabeth Mandlik in the second round.