Zeynep Sönmez paused the match to support a ballkid suffering an apparent heat-related issue
After a seven-minute delay, the Turkish qualifier regrouped to defeat world No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova
The win sends the world No. 112 into the second round at the Australian Open for the first time
Australian Open 2026: Zeynep Sonmez Halts Play To Help Ballkid During Alexandrova Upset
Australian Open 2026 saw a moment of sportsmanship as Zeynep Sönmez stopped play to assist an unwell ballkid during her shock first-round win over Ekaterina Alexandrova in Melbourne
Summary
Zeynep Sönmez rushed to the aid of an ailing ballkid in an interruption to play during her first-round upset win over No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova on Sunday at the Australian Open.
The 23-year-old Turkish qualifier was receiving serve in the ninth game of the second set when a ballkid wobbled, lost balance and stumbled backward near the umpire’s chair in sunny conditions at 1573 Arena.
The ballkid stood up quickly but started wobbling again, and Sönmez immediately held up her hand to suspend play. She went to the courtside and put an arm around the ballkid’s waist and helped her toward some shade.
Tournament officials moved quickly to help, but Sönmez had to lift the ballkid into a chair near the side of the arena. Medical staff took over to assess and treat the ballkid in the shade. It appeared to be a heat-related incident, with the temperature at the time around 29 Celsius (84 Fahrenheit) but with high intensity at surface level on the exposed hardcourt.
The players waited until the ballkid and the medical staff had left the arena and, after a delay of about seven minutes, continued the match.
Sönmez, ranked No. 112, broke serve in that game but lost the set before rallying to clinch it 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the second round in Australia for the first time.
Her best performance in five previous Grand Slam events was a run to the third round at Wimbledon last year.
The tournament said the ballkid quickly recovered but didn’t participate in the remainder of the match.
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