Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez displayed remarkable sportsmanship at the Australian Open on Sunday, helping a ball girl who fainted during her first-round match against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova.

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Quick Thinking on Court

The incident occurred towards the end of the second set as Alexandrova served. The ball girl, positioned beside the umpire’s chair, collapsed flat on her back before quickly trying to stand again.

Sonmez immediately rushed over to assist, helping the youngster to the side of the court where she received medical attention in the shade. Play resumed after a six-minute delay.

“She was really struggling. She said she was fine, but it was really obvious she was not,” Sonmez told BBC Sport. “I went to grab her and said ‘sit down and drink something, you’re not fine.’ As we were walking she fainted again, so luckily I grabbed her.”

Tennis Australia confirmed the ball girl received on-site medical care before returning home.

Sonmez, world number 112, added:

“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, and I think everyone would do the same. I’m happy I got to help.”

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Match Result

After the interruption, Sonmez rallied from 3-0 down in the decider to upset Alexandrova 7-5 4-6 6-4 on her fourth match point, completing a memorable first-round victory.

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

Temperatures at Melbourne Park reached 28°C, with forecasts hitting 35°C later in the tournament. The Australian Open’s Heat Stress Scale (HSS) registered a 2.8 reading at the time of the fainting incident, recommending increased hydration.

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Historic Triple Tie-Break for Jacquemot

Meanwhile, France’s Elsa Jacquemot created history by defeating Ukraine’s 20th seed Marta Kostyuk 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (10-7) in the first triple tie-break match in Melbourne’s Open era.

Jacquemot saved a match point and came back from a set and 5-3 down to win after 3 hours 31 minutes, the longest match of the season so far.

“I won it with the heart and with the guts,” Jacquemot said.

Kostyuk’s exit was particularly surprising given her strong pre-Open form, having beaten three top-10 players at the Brisbane International last week.