Zeynep Sonmez will make history for Turkish tennis if she defeats Yulia Putintseva on Friday at the Australian Open, becoming the first Turkish player to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles event.
Ranked 112th in the world, Sonmez will face world No. 94 Putintseva of Kazakhstan in the women’s singles third round of the tournament in Melbourne. The match will be played at Kia Arena and is scheduled to start after the Learner Tien–Nuno Borges match, which begins at 12.40 pm local time (0140 GMT).
The match will mark the first career meeting between Sonmez and Putintseva. The Kazakh player has reached the quarterfinals three times at Grand Slam tournaments, at the French Open in 2016 and 2018 and at the US Open in 2020, but has never advanced beyond the third round at the Australian Open.
Sonmez, 23, climbed as high as 69th in the world rankings last year and claimed her only WTA singles title at the 2024 Merida Open. Putintseva, 31, whose career-high ranking is 20th, has won three WTA singles titles, the 2019 Nuremberg Cup, the 2021 Budapest Grand Prix and the 2024 Birmingham Open.
On verge of history
Already the first Turkish woman to reach the third round of a Grand Slam singles event in the Open Era in 2025, and the first Turkish female player to compete in the main draws of all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same season, Sonmez is now aiming to add another milestone.
Although direct comparisons are difficult due to changes in main-draw sizes across eras, a victory on Friday would make Sonmez the first Turkish tennis player to reach the fourth round (last 16) of a Grand Slam singles event.
Before the Open Era, which began in 1968 when professional players were allowed to compete in major tournaments, some Grand Slams featured 64-player singles draws instead of today’s 128, meaning only three wins were needed to reach the quarterfinals rather than four.
Bahtiye Musluoglu reached third round in 1950
Before the Open Era, Bahtiye Musluoglu achieved one of the earliest major milestones in Turkish tennis.
Invited by the French Tennis Federation, Musluoglu competed at the 1950 Roland Garros, then known as the French Championships. She advanced directly to the second round before defeating France’s Simone Houllier-Larousse 2–0 (6–2, 6–3) to reach the last 16.
Musluoglu was eliminated in the third round after losing 2–0 (6–0, 6–2) to top seed American Margaret Osborne duPont.
Musluoglu, who died in 1999 at the age of 81, saw her 1950 French Open third-round achievement equaled 75 years later by Sonmez at Wimbledon.
Ipek Senoglu reached third round in doubles
Ipek Senoglu, who retired in 2012, reached the third round in women’s doubles at Grand Slam tournaments.
She advanced to the last 16 at the 2004 US Open alongside American Laura Granville and at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships with Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi.
In men’s singles, no Turkish player has reached the third round. Marsel Ilhan reached the second round three times at the US Open (2009, 2011, 2015), twice at Wimbledon (2010, 2015), once at the French Open (2011) and once at the Australian Open (2010).
Turkish tennis players who reached third round at Grand Slam tournaments Singles:
Bahtiye Musluoglu, 1950 French Open Zeynep Sonmez, 2025 Wimbledon, 2026 Australian Open Doubles:
Ipek Senoglu, 2004 US Open, 2009 Wimbledon.
