Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sönmez stopped play to help out Sunday when a ball girl fainted during an Australian Open match.
The incident happened during the second set of Sonmez’s match against Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova. As Sönmez prepared to receive a serve, the ball girl next to the chair umpire stumbled, then fell flat on her back. She quickly got back up to her feet.
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Sönmez called for a stoppage in play and walked over to check on the ball girl. The chair umpire stepped down from his seat, and Sönmez put her arm around the ball girl to help her walk off the playing court. The ball girl collapsed again in Sönmez’s arms before Sönmez was able to help her find a seat in the shade.
Per The Telegraph, play was paused for six minutes as the ball girl received medical attention. Sönmez, unseeded and ranked 112th in the world, went on to a 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 upset of the 11th-seeded Alexandrova to advance to the second round.
“She was really struggling,” Sönmez told BBC Sport of the ball girl after the match. “She said she was fine but it was really obvious she was not fine. So I went to grab her and said,’Sit down and drink something, you’re not fine’.
“As we were walking she fainted, so luckily I grabbed her. She was really shaking.”
Per BBC Sport, temperatures peaked at 82 degrees Fahrenheit during play on Sunday. They’re projected to increase to 95 degrees by next weekend.
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The ball girl’s condition wasn’t reported in the aftermath of the match.
“I always say it is more important to be a good human being than a good tennis player,” Sönmez said after the match. “It was just my instinct to help her, and I think everyone would do the same. I’m happy I got to help.”