Turkey's Zeynep Sönmez helps ball girl who fainted on court during Australian Open match

Yahoo Sports • January 18, 2026 • sports

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Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sönmez paused her Australian Open match to assist a ball girl who fainted during the second set against Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Sönmez helped the ball girl to a shaded area after she collapsed twice, leading to a six-minute medical stoppage in play.
Despite the interruption and heat peaking at 82°F, Sönmez, ranked 112th, upset the 11th-seeded Alexandrova to advance to the second round.
Sönmez emphasized the importance of kindness over competition, stating her instinct was to help, and noted the ball girl was visibly struggling despite claiming to be fine.
The ball girl’s condition after the incident was