14 January 2026

Zeynep Sönmez in the Final Round of Australian Open Qualifiers

 Defeating Ms. Julia Riera in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, Ms. Zeynep Sönmez advanced to the final round of the Australian Open qualifiers.

Our national tennis player, ranked 112th in the standings, had advanced to the second round by defeating Ms. Laura Samson in the first round of the qualifiers. Facing Ms. Julia Riera in the second round, Ms. Sönmez inscribed her name in the final round by defeating the Argentine tennis player 6-3, 6-1 after a battle lasting 1 hour and 13 minutes.

Ms. Sönmez took control against her opponent by utilizing her first serve with high success and kept unforced errors to a minimum. In the first set, Ms. Sönmez established dominance with an aggressive game against Ms. Riera's service games and claimed the set 6-3. Maintaining her momentum in the second set, the national tennis player concluded the match with a score of 6-1, allowing her opponent only 1 game.

Ms. Sönmez will compete to advance to the main draw against the winner of the Ms. Justina Mikulskyte–Ms. Anastasia Gasanova match in the final round of the qualifiers.

14 January 2026