Turkish history-maker buoyed by crowd support
The crowd support for Zeynep Sonmez on Court 7 at the Australian Open on Wednesday was so loud, she said she could hardly hear her own thoughts.
A huge Turkish diaspora resides in Melbourne, many of which turned up for Sonmez this week as she made history for her country at the opening major of the season.
The 23-year-old from Istanbul swept through the qualifying rounds, dropping a mere total of just 13 games en route to the main draw, before she became the first ever Turkish player to reach the third round at the Australian Open.
Sonmez kicked off her main draw campaign with a bang, knocking out No.11 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
It was an impressive upset that saw her become the first Turkish woman to win a main draw match at the Australian Open; but it wasn’t the only reason Sonmez attracted a great deal of attention that day.
It was an act of kindness in the heat of battle that earned Sonmez the respect and admiration of fans across the globe. Towards the end of the second set against Alexandrova, Sonmez came to rescue when she noticed a ballkid was falling ill, and had collapsed to the ground before getting back up again.
Sonmez raced to the girl’s side, and despite the ballkid insisting she was fine, the Turkish qualifier could tell that wasn’t the case and she supported her away from the sidelines before medical professionals took over.
“She was really struggling. She said she was fine but it was really obvious she was not fine,” Sonmez told BBC Sport of the incident.
“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.
“I always say it is more important to be a good human being than a good tennis player. It was just my instinct to help her and I think everyone would do the same. I'm happy I got to help.”
Video of Sonmez’s swift reaction to the situation went viral and when she showed up for her second-round match against Hungarian Anna Bondar on Wednesday, the stands were jam-packed with buoyant supporters, bearing Turkish flags and chanting her name.
She returned the favour by defeating Bondar 6-2, 6-4 to set up a Friday third-round clash with Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva.
Sonmez admitted she was nervous at the start of her match against Bondar – a player she says she really loved as a person – and was intimidated by the crowd support.
“At first I couldn't even hear my own thoughts. It was very, very loud. Then I said, you know, ‘Zeynep, just focus, just you and the ball and, like, play your game and just focus on the court’,” she said.
“I know that they were there to support me, and I really appreciate it. They did help me a lot, especially in the important points, I always felt the support.
“I always feel the support even back home, too. I know they're supporting me. I know they're watching me. It was, like, 3:00 a.m. in the morning [in Turkey], and I know that there were many people who just woke up to watch me.
“I really appreciate it. They really did help me in the match, too. The score was, like, 6-2, 6-4, but it was a tight match. So I'm grateful that they were there.”
This is Sonmez’s sixth Grand Slam main draw appearance and her run to the Australian Open third round matches her best previous result at this level, having achieved that feat for the first time at Wimbledon last year.
On Friday against Putintseva, she will attempt to become the first Turkish player to reach a Grand Slam fourth round in Open Era history.
Currently ranked 112 in the world, Sonmez will re-enter the top 80 after the Australian Open, and is keen to make further history for Turkish tennis moving forward.
“Definitely it's a new experience for me. I'm experiencing Grand Slams, main draws. I played my first main draw two years ago in Roland-Garros, but my first direct entrance to a main draw was last year here. So everything is kind of new for me,” she added.
“We had some good players [from Turkey], like we had Cagla [Buyukakcay]. We had Marsel [Ilhan]. We had Cem Ilkel. We had Altug Celikbilek. We had some good players.
“I think I grew up watching them, too, and I really appreciate, like, they support me, too, in my matches. They're always trying to help me with their experiences. I want to do better.
“I know that it's a new thing in Turkey, but I don't want to stop here. I want to keep going. I want to do better things.”
Sonmez’s breakthrough season came in 2024 when she clinched a maiden WTA title in Merida and made her top-100 debut.
This year she has a new coach in her corner, Issam Jellali, who is helping her in 2026 while his player, Ons Jabeur, is out on maternity leave.
Sonmez prepared for the season training at the Ons Jabeur Academy in Dubai and is being coached remotely by Jellali at this Australian Open, before they reunite in Abu Dhabi for the WTA’s Middle East swing.
“My biggest dream is to win a Grand Slam, but I'm not focusing on that so much,” said Sonmez. “I'm focusing on enjoying being on the court, enjoying playing matches, enjoying being in the Grand Slams, you know? More like on that part.”
With an atmosphere like what’s she’s been experiencing in Melbourne so far, it’s fair to assume there’s lots more enjoyment to come for Sonmez.
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
