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Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sonmez has secured a place in the main draw of the 2026 Australian Open after winning her final qualifying match in Melbourne.
The 23 year old defeated Russian player Anastasia Gasanova in straight sets to enter the tournament main stage for the second time in her career.
Sonmez won the match 6-3 and 6-2 in a contest that lasted 1 hour and 29 minutes. She entered the match ranked 112 in the WTA standings. Gasanova stood at number 212. The result confirmed Sonmez as one of the 128 players in the main draw of the season’s first Grand Slam tournament.
First round matches at the 2026 Australian Open will begin on January 18.
Her qualification marks another appearance in the Australian Open main draw after first achieving the feat in 2025. The draw for the main tournament will determine her first round opponent in the coming days.
Sonmez completed the qualifying stage without losing a single set across three matches in Melbourne and recorded dominant wins in each round and conceded only 15 games in total.
Her qualifying run included:
Zeynep Sonmez now moves into the Australian Open main draw for the second time in her career. She qualified after winning three matches without dropping a set in Melbourne.
The 2026 Australian Open main draw matches will begin on Sunday January 18. Sonmez will learn her first round opponent after the official draw takes place.
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