Germans affected
Advertising display injures tennis player – doubles gives up
May 29, 2026 – 4:33 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Zeynep Sönmez trips over an advertising display at the French Open and injures his knee. It is the second such incident at the tournament – with consequences.
At the French Open, an advertising display on the sidelines ended the doubles of German tennis player Tatjana Maria. Her partner Zeynep Sönmez ran after a long ball, caught her foot on the setter and fell – the duo then gave up when the score was 0:2.
What had happened? The 24-year-old Turkish woman ran well behind the baseline, her eyes on the ball. Her left foot caught on the green stand at shin height. Then she tripped over it with her right foot and fell first against the barrier tarpaulin, then to her knees.
Maria immediately rushed to her, comforted her and helped her up. The broadcaster beIN Sports wrote on
It wasn’t the first incident of its kind at the tournament. The Belgian Alexander Blockx had to cancel his second round match against the Australian Alex de Minaur. According to the team, he tripped over a covering at the back of the field at the training facility and sustained an ankle injury.
Blockx coach Ruben Bemelmans told The Athletic portal that the team was considering claims for damages. “In my opinion, it either shouldn’t be there at all or there should be another solution,” said Bemelmans. The spaces are already very narrow.
Other players also spoke up. British tennis player Katie Boulter wrote on
