French Open doubles match ends after sign causes injury

Field Level Media|published: Fri 29th May, 11:33 2026

May 25, 2013; Paris, FRANCE; A general view of a tennis ball on a clay court before the 2013 French Open at Roland Garros. Mandatory Credit: Matthias Hauer/GEPA via Imagn Images

A French Open women's doubles match ended Friday when a player tripped over an advertising sign near the baseline and crashed into a wall.

Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez, 24, sustained a leg injury on the incident at Court Six at Roland Garros in Paris.

Sonmez was chasing down a lob in the first set when she collided with a sign near the court boundary and lost her balance before falling headlong into the wall. She visibly was shaken and appeared to be in considerable pain as the medical staff responded immediately.

Zeynep Sonmez running for a ball and trips over an advertising sign at the back of the court.

She got injured and had to retire from her doubles match.

What is Roland Garros doing at this point to protect the players?

This is getting ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/V6npUQZ0MS
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 29, 2026

With Sonmez unable to continue, the second-round match ended after just 17 minutes with Sonmez and Germany's Tatjana Maria trailing 2-0 against Ukrainians Dayana Yastremska and Anhelina Kalinina.

Sonmez lost her first-round singles match earlier this week 6-4, 6-4 against Australia's Daria Kasatkina.

Sonmez is ranked No. 66 in the world and owns one singles title on the WTA Tour, prevailing at Mexico's Merida Open in October 2024.

--Field Level Media

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