Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez paused her opening-round match at the Australian Open to help a fainting ball girl, before securing a three-set win on Sunday, January 18. Sonmez created history with her win, but it was her selfless act that won hearts of the fans.
Turkiye’s Zeynep Sonmez progressed to the second round of the Australian Open after a dramatic first-round encounter that saw her provide immediate assistance to a ball girl who collapsed during the match. In a contest marked by soaring temperatures in Melbourne, Sonmez, ranked 112th in the world, stopped play in the second set to help the unwell ball girl, drawing widespread appreciation from both the crowd and the tennis community.
The Turkish player ultimately prevailed over Russia’s 11th seed, Ekaterina Alexandrova, with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 scoreline, becoming the first woman from Turkiye to reach the second round of the year’s opening Grand Slam.
As play paused, spectators watched as Sonmez ran towards the ball girl when she fell beside the chair umpire. The girl tried to regain her footing but stumbled again. Sonmez placed the girl’s arm over her own shoulder and guided her to a seat for medical attention. The intervention was met by applause from the crowd, who witnessed both competitive spirit and sportsmanship.
Despite the interruption and losing the second set, Sonmez kept her composure to secure the match. Her reaction to the incident was clear.
“I always say it’s more important to be a good human being than a good tennis player. It was just my instinct to help her and everyone would do the same. I’m happy I got to help,” told Sonmez to BBC.
Organisers later confirmed the ball girl had returned home after treatment.
Sonmez’s victory capped a milestone moment, as she waved to supporters and left the court wrapped in the Turkish flag, with fans celebrating her achievement in the stands of the 1573 Arena at Melbourne Park. When asked about the ball girl, Sonmez added,
“If I see her tomorrow or later in the tournament I’d love to speak to her.”
“She was really struggling. She said she was fine but it was really obvious she was not fine,” and, “So I went to grab her and said ‘sit down and drink something, you’re not fine’. As we were walking she fainted so luckily I grabbed her. She was really shaking.”
