1. News
  2. Sports
  3. Tennis
  4. Australian Open: Turkish tennis player explains rushing to help ball girl after collapse, ‘She was really struggling’

Australian Open 2026: As her opponent Ekaterina Alexandrova was preparing to serve for the second set, the ball girl, who was standing beside the umpire’s chair, fell flat on her back before swiftly getting back up.

As impressive as her performance was, Sonmez also hit the headlines for coming to the rescue of a ball girl who fainted in the second set of the match. (Reuters Photo)Australian Open: As impressive as her performance was, Sonmez also hit the headlines for coming to the rescue of a ball girl who fainted in the second set of the match. (Reuters Photo)

Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez caused one of the first upsets of the 2026 Australian Open on Sunday, when she eliminated the 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, to enter the second round.

Story continues below this ad

However, as impressive as her performance was, Sonmez also hit the headlines for coming to the rescue of a ball girl who fainted in the second set of the match.

short article insert As the Russian was preparing to serve for the second set, the ball girl, who was standing beside the umpire’s chair, fell flat on her back before swiftly getting back up. The 112-ranked Somnez requested that Alexandrova stop her serve and rushed to the ball girl, helping her carry off the court.

Respect to Zeynep Sönmez who went to help this ball kid who fainted beside the court ❤️ pic.twitter.com/iHnX2TDaZ7

— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 18, 2026

Talking about the incident afterwards, the 23-year-old said that the ball girl was visibly shaken, adding that the ball girl told her she was okay, but that wasn’t the case.

Story continues below this ad

“She was really struggling. She said she was fine, but it was really obvious she was not fine. 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,” Sonmez told the BBC.

She further said that her instincts took over when she saw the ball girl collapse, and she was glad to help her out.

“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. If I see the ball girl tomorrow or later in the tournament, I’d love to speak to her,” Sonmez said.

In 2019, the Australian Open authorities updated their extreme heat policy (EHP) after researching the effects of heat stress on players. That research led to the formation of a heat stress scale (HSS), which is used to determine when the conditions become too demanding and when the athlete’s health could be at risk. During Sunday’s match, the HSS had reached 2.8 when the ball girl collapsed, with the advice of the reading stating a need to increase the hydration.

© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd