Zeynep Sönmez to face Alexandrova in Australian Open opener

WISE NEWS PRESS / MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

Turkish national tennis player Zeynep Sönmez has successfully advanced to the main draw of the 2026 Australian Open, where she is set to face the 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the first round.

Sönmez, currently ranked 112th in the WTA world rankings, secured her position after a dominant performance in the qualifying rounds held in Melbourne. In the final qualifying match, the 23-year-old defeated Gasanova (ranked 212th) with a score of 6-3, 6-2 in just 1 hour and 29 minutes, marking her return to the season's first Grand Slam main stage.

A high-stakes rematch in Melbourne

The upcoming first-round match on January 18 serves as a significant rematch for Sönmez. The Turkish athlete previously faced the Russian veteran, Alexandrova, in the third round of Wimbledon in 2025. While Sönmez was eliminated in that encounter, her current momentum suggests a more competitive battle. Following her Wimbledon run last year, Sönmez also appeared in the US Open, where she reached the second round before falling to Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk.

From summer school to Grand Slam stages

Born in Istanbul in 2002 to a family originally from Artvin, Zeynep Sönmez's journey to professional tennis began unexpectedly at the age of six. Initially enrolled in summer school for basketball and swimming, Sönmez revealed in previous interviews that she would often sneak away to play with oversized tennis rackets instead. Her talent was quickly noticed by coaches, setting her on a path to becoming one of Turkey's most successful female athletes.

Turkish tennis on the rise

Sönmez follows in the footsteps of Turkish tennis pioneers such as İpek Şenoğlu, the first Turkish woman to represent the country at Wimbledon, and Çağla Büyükakçay, who became the first Turkish player to win a WTA singles title in 2016. By qualifying for the Australian Open main draw for the second consecutive year, Sönmez continues to elevate the profile of Turkish tennis on the global stage.

The first-round matches of the 2026 Australian Open are scheduled to begin on Sunday, January 18. Sönmez is expected to take the court against Alexandrova at approximately 04:30 Turkish Time (TSİ).

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