Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez rushed to help a ball boy who fainted during her unexpected first-round Australian Open qualifying win over Ekaterina Alexandrova.
When Alexandrova served to tie the match in the second set, the ball boy standing next to the referee’s chair fell to the ground and quickly stood up.
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Sonmez rushed to her and helped her to the side of the court where she received medical attention in the shade.
The ball girl managed to stand up with the help of medical staff and left the court, and the game restarted after a six-minute delay.
Russian No. 11 seed Alexandrova subsequently won the set, but world No. 112 Sonmez fought back from 0-3 behind in the final set and was upset 7-5 4-6 6-4 on the fourth match point.
It was the biggest win of the 23-year-old’s career and brought her into the second round at Melbourne Park for the first time.
Temperatures hit 28C at Melbourne Park on Sunday as the first major of the year kicked off, with temperatures expected to reach 35C by Saturday, January 24.
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The Australian Open updated its Extreme Heat Policy (EHP) in 2019 following research into the effects of heat stress on tennis players.
This research led to the development of the Heat Stress Scale (HSS), which is used to determine when conditions become too challenging and when players’ health may be at risk.