Zeynep Sönmez’s historic Australian Open run came to an emotional end Friday night, but not before the Turkish qualifier pushed the spotlight firmly onto herself in a gripping three-set loss to an unrepentant antagonist, as Yulia Putintseva embraced the role of villain to silence a roaring crowd in a fiery third-round clash at Kia Arena.
Sönmez, ranked No. 112 and playing the biggest match of her career, fell 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 after 2 hours and 34 minutes, narrowly missing the chance to become the first Turkish player to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
Backed by an overwhelmingly partisan crowd, she matched Putintseva’s experience with fearless shot-making and resilience in one of the tournament’s most charged and theatrical encounters.
The match began nervously for Sönmez as Putintseva appeared energized rather than unsettled by the hostility.
The Kazakh broke serve in the second game and surged to a 3-0 lead, feeding off whistles and jeers as Sönmez struggled to find early rhythm.
Unforced errors mounted as Putintseva dictated the tempo, closing out the opening set 6-3 and forcing the Turkish qualifier into increasingly aggressive and risky patterns.
Refusing to fade, Sönmez produced her most composed stretch of the night in the second set.
After conceding an early break once again, she steadied, broke back at 3-3 and leaned into the crowd’s energy to edge ahead.
The arena teetered between belief and chaos, with Turkish fans shouting between points, prompting repeated umpire warnings, while Putintseva exchanged glares with sections of the crowd, slowing the pace and asserting control over the moment as much as the match.
The drama peaked at 5-5 when Sönmez squandered a 40-0 lead and was broken, only to respond with her boldest tennis, breaking straight back and dominating the tiebreak 7-3 to level the match.
Her aggression defined the contest. Sönmez finished with 40 winners, repeatedly stepping inside the court and thriving at the net, where she won 83% of her points.
The risk, however, came at a cost. Her 73 unforced errors, more than double Putintseva’s total, proved decisive as the match wore on.
In the final set, with fatigue creeping into Sönmez’s legs, Putintseva delivered the coldest stretch of tennis of the night. She broke early, raced to a 3-0 lead and muted the crowd, refusing to be drawn into extended rallies.
Where Sönmez played on instinct and emotion, Putintseva relied on restraint, precision and patience to close the door on the qualifier’s dream run.
If the match established Putintseva as the antagonist, the aftermath confirmed it.
She cupped her ears to the booing crowd, blew kisses toward the stands and danced near her chair during the on-court interview, drawing louder jeers as Sönmez stood quietly to one side.
Putintseva later described the atmosphere as “crazy,” welcoming the confrontation and acknowledging she thrives in such battles, even as she criticized some crowd behavior as disrespectful.
Sönmez exited to a standing ovation, her breakthrough run intact in spirit if not on the scoreboard.
She arrived in Melbourne through qualifying, stunned 11th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova in the opening round and became a focal point for Turkish fans who transformed Kia Arena into a wall of noise and color.
Her impact extended beyond the scorelines.
Earlier in the week, Sönmez earned widespread praise after rushing to help a ball girl who collapsed in extreme heat, a moment that went viral and further endeared her to fans.
