Video Moment: Ball Girl Faints as Sonmez Stuns Alexandrov at AO 2026
18 January 2026
Day One Drama at the Australian Open
Day one of the 2026 Australian Open delivered drama at the 1573 Arena, as Turkish hopeful Zeynep Sonmez faced Russian Ekaterina Alexandrov in the first round of the women's singles.
In the sweltering heat, with temperatures around 30 C, a ball kid suddenly fainted near the net. Sonmez rushed to assist, guiding the girl off court as anxious spectators looked on, before medical staff attended to her.
Not stopping there, the Turkish qualifier mounted a marathon comeback, upsetting Alexandrov in a three-set thriller: 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, lasting two hours and 37 minutes.
The showpiece continued as the world No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, began her bid toward a fourth consecutive Australian Open final with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over a qualifier.
A reminder that in tennis, as in life, quick reactions can save both points and public nerves on hot days. Punchline 1: If my jokes were as accurate as a serve, the line judge would need a cooling break. Punchline 2: I told the ball to take a break; it replied: I’m already in peak performance mode.
