{"id":672195,"date":"2026-05-29T13:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/672195\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T13:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:27:08","slug":"tennis-player-retires-from-french-open-match-after-falling-over-advertising-block-on-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/672195\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis player retires from French Open match after falling over advertising block on court"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage\u00a0from Day 6 of the French Open<\/a><\/p>\n

PARIS \u2014 Zeynep S\u00f6nmez, the Turkish world No. 66, was forced to retire injured from a French Open doubles match Friday after tripping over an advertising block at the back of the court.<\/p>\n

Running backwards to hit a backhand, in just the third game of her match with Tatjana Maria against Dayana Yastremska and Anhelina Kalinina, S\u00f6nmez tripped on the small Lacoste-branded block and collapsed into the back fence.<\/p>\n

She was quickly comforted by Maria, and the umpire Aur\u00e9lie Tourte instantly called for medical attention. Yastremska and Kalinina also crossed the net to check on her wellbeing. A visibly distressed S\u00f6nmez was then seen on court by two medical professionals, one of whom stretched out her right knee. After a few minutes she was helped to her feet, including by Maria, and was then able to walk to her chair unaided, where she received more treatment \u2014 including for a cut on the knee.<\/p>\n

Zeynep Sonmez, ya\u015fad\u0131\u011f\u0131 bu talihsiz kazan\u0131n ard\u0131ndan \u00e7iftler ma\u00e7\u0131ndan \u00e7ekilmek zorunda kald\u0131\u2026 #RolandGarros<\/a> <\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude4f Ge\u00e7mi\u015f olsun Zeynep. pic.twitter.com\/8WkRgRpa1z<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Eurosport TR (@Eurosport_TR) May 29, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

S\u00f6nmez decided she couldn\u2019t continue, and Yastremska and Kalinina were awarded the victory with the score at 2-0 to advance to the third round. S\u00f6nmez then limped off the court unaided.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the French Tennis Federation (FFT) was not immediately available for comment on the incident and the tournament\u2019s policy regarding advertising blocks at the back of courts. A spokesperson for Lacoste did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Katie Boulter, the British world No. 71, was involved in a similar incident during her match against Anastasia Potapova a day earlier. Boulter tripped on an advertising block while hitting a forehand and fell to the floor. She was uninjured, but after seeing the S\u00f6nmez incident, Boulter posted on X: \u201cTHESE THINGS HAVE TO GO. Got lucky last night but next time I might not be\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Alexander Blockx, a promising 21-year-old ranked No. 37, twisted his ankle on a tarp at the back of a practice court and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. The following day, his coach Ruben Bemelmans told The Athletic<\/a> that they were considering seeking compensation for the incident, and had fed back to organizers that they didn\u2019t think the tarp should have been there.<\/p>\n

Back in 2017, fellow Belgian David Goffin twisted his ankle on tarp at the back of a court at Roland Garros. Goffin, ranked No. 12 at the time, was forced to retire from a third-round match against Argentina\u2019s Horacio Zeballos and was then out for more than six weeks.<\/p>\n

S\u00f6nmez will hope she avoids a similar layoff after a promising 2026 so far. She reached the third round of the Australian Open as a qualifier in January and climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 59 earlier this month. She lost in the first round of the French Open to former world No. 9 Daria Kasatkina on Monday.<\/p>\n

Yastremska and Kalinina will next face either Maya Joint and Hanne Vandewinkel\u00a0or No. 2 seeds Aleksandra Kruni\u0107 and Anna Danilina\u00a0in the third round.<\/p>\n