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A fair play moment placed Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sonmez in the spotlight at the Australian Open in Melbourne. During her first-round match, a ball child collapsed due to the heat.
Sonmez noticed the situation and moved to assist. She helped the child remain upright and provided water until medical staff arrived.
Spectators at Melbourne Park applauded the gesture and it became one of the most discussed scenes of the day.
Speaking about the incident, Sonmez said the child told her she was fine but her condition showed otherwise. "She said she was fine but it was very clear that she was not. I went to hold her and told her to sit and drink something because she did not feel well," she said, as reported by the BBC.
Sonmez added that the child fainted while walking.
"She passed out while walking and luckily, I could hold her. She was really shaking," she said. She also stressed the importance of character beyond sport. "I always say that being a good human matters more than being only a good tennis player," she said.
Play resumed after a six-minute delay. The Australian Tennis Federation confirmed that medical staff treated the ball child. The court temperature stood at around 28 degrees at the time of the incident.
The gesture took place during a historic match for Turkish tennis. Sonmez defeated world number 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets. She became the first Turkish woman to win a singles match in the Australian Open main draw.
Sonmez entered the match ranked 112 in the world. She faced Alexandrova, who ranked 101 places higher. The match lasted two hours and 37 minutes. Sonmez won 7-5, lost 4-6, and then closed the final set 6-4.
The victory also carried personal meaning, as Sonmez faced Alexandrova last year at Wimbledon and lost in straight sets.
This time, she secured the win on a Grand Slam stage. Her Wimbledon run last year ended in the third round, which also marked a milestone for Turkish tennis.
Zeynep Sonmez opened the match under pressure. She trailed 5-2 in the first set and saved two set points. She stayed in long rallies and won five consecutive games to take the set 7-5.
She broke serve early in the second set and moved ahead 3-1. Alexandrova responded with consecutive games and won the set 6-4. The match moved to a deciding set.
Sonmez fell behind 3-0 in the final set. She recovered after a long sixth game and leveled the score. Both players exchanged breaks before Sonmez moved ahead 5-4. She converted her fourth match point and sealed the set 6-4.
Zeynep Sonmez created 14 breakpoint chances on Alexandrova's serve. She converted six of them. She won 52% of points on her second serve.
She collected 110 total points during the match. Alexandrova recorded 48 unforced errors. Sonmez won 17 of 25 net points, which equals a 68 percent success rate.
Sonmez will face the winner of the match between Hungarian player Anna Bondar and American player Elizabeth Mandlik. All four sources confirmed this pairing for the second round.
The Australian Open stands as the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. Sonmez now carries Türkiye's representation into the second round after a landmark victory in Melbourne.
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