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Zeynep Sönmez Rushes to Aid Ballkid During Australian Open Upset Win

Sonmez stopped play to assist a fainted ball girl during her upset win over the 11th seed, highlighting the extreme heat's impact at the Australian Open.

  • On Jan 20, Turkish 23-year-old Zeynep Sonmez emerged as a crowd favourite after helping a ball girl on day one and beat Hungarian Anna Bondar 6-2 6-4 to reach the third round at Melbourne Park.
  • Warm conditions at Melbourne Park produced heat-related cramps for players, while organisers halted ground-pass sales within an hour, disappointing fans who queued under a hot sun.
  • At 1130 GMT, Sonmez's match was listed in the day's order of play and appeared among Reuters' main showcourt highlights.
  • Media attention around the tournament paired Sonmez's victory with other headline results, framing her progress as a 'dream Melbourne run' that soaked up strong crowd support.
  • The Australian Open opened on Jan 18 and the event's early days featured top names in action, including Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, while order-of-play listings showed Sonmez competing amid a packed schedule.
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LancasterOnlineLancasterOnline
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Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
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MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz acknowledged that although he won his third round match, he lost the drop shots battle against Corentin Moutet.

·Lancaster, United States
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Alexander Zverev made it to the eighth final of the Australian Open. Afterwards he gave an interview and made a wild bet.

·Berlin, Germany
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From January 12th to February 1st, tennis fans will be looking at Melbourne, where the Australian Open 2026 will be the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. Who will push champions Jannik Sinner and Madison Keys from the Australian Open Thron this year?

Chronicle-TribuneChronicle-Tribune
+4 Reposted by 4 other sources
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Alcaraz eases into Melbourne last 16 as Sabalenka 'all over the place'

Carlos Alcaraz stepped up his quest to win a maiden Australian Open as he overwhelmed showman Corentin Moutet on Friday to reach the last 16 while Aryna Sabalenka said she was "emotionally all over the place" in victory.

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FirstSportz broke the news in on Thursday, January 15, 2026.
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