Zeynep Sonmez’s journey from ballgirl to Turkish tennis standout

Editor’s note: This month, we’re highlighting the players set to leave their mark in 2025, with standout performances and stories worth following.

"It was amazing," she said via Zoom from Mumbai, where she has been competing in the Indian Tennis Premier League. "I met many people I adore, who I've watched on TV and who I follow. The attention and love I received was amazing and I'm very grateful to have the award in my house."

The prestigious honor is reflective of Sonmez's historic accomplishment. With the victory in Merida, she became only the second Turkish woman to win a WTA title and to break the Top 100 following Cagla Buyukakcay, who lifted the Istanbul trophy in 2016.

How did that event change everything for Sonmez? What’s been her biggest leap forward this year? And why does she feel so strongly about taking a stand? Find out below.

The WTA's presence in Istanbul was formative for Sonmez

Sonmez was first introduced to tennis at a holiday camp, even though her parents had enrolled her in swimming and basketball classes.

"I don't remember this, but they said I hated basketball so much I kept running away and going to the tennis courts," Sonmez said. "I was picking up big racquets and trying to play on my own. That's when my first coach recognized me and said, 'If she doesn't like basketball she can join the tennis.'"

But it was being able to see live tennis at the WTA Finals Istanbul in 2011-13, as well as the tour's annual clay-court event in the Turkish capital, that really ignited Sonmez's desire to become a professional.

"I was 11 or 12, and I remember my mum picking me up from school [to go to the WTA Finals], and I was trying to watch every match," she said. "It was unbelievable, the atmosphere and the players were perfect. I was trying to watch every match. Azarenka, Li Na, Serena, Sharapova ... they're all such iconic players."

A few years later, Sonmez had become a ballgirl for the Istanbul event and was on court to watch Buyukakcay make history.

"It was very emotional for me," she said. "Everyone in Turkish tennis was there. Of course, it was a good inspiration for me and for all Turkish players."

Sonmez has worked on her aggression to break through -- and her mentality

A hallmark of Sonmez's title run in Merida was her commitment to constantly swarming the net, delivering both delicate touch and authoritative overheads. That was something she actively sought to improve in 2024, a breakthrough season in which she cut her year-end ranking from No.159 to No.92 and made her Grand Slam main-draw debut by qualifying for Roland Garros.

"Since I started playing tennis, my footwork and my movement was my best thing," Sonmez said. "I had to add an attack game. In Top 150, you have to win the point, you cannot just run and hit the ball in. It's more a mindset. My mentality isn't, 'I'm going to hit a volley.' It's more, 'I'm going to go to net and play aggressively.'"

Sonmez also considers this season a breakthrough in terms of mental strength and focus. She describes her Merida run as a "mental battle" -- having taken three flights from Tokyo via Istanbul and Miami to get there just a day before her first-round match, Sonmez also had to deal with rain delays and an "epic" quarterfinal contest against home favorite Renata Zarazua.

But she didn't think about winning the tournament until her final shot -- a lesson she learned from what she describes as her toughest defeat of the year, a 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 loss to Daria Snigur in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying. Sonmez had led 4-0 in the second set and 4-1 in the third.

"It was a weird match and very, very heartbreaking," she said. "It was like a rollercoaster. I think I learned a lot, though. I was thinking about the ending a lot -- am I going to win, am I going to make it to the main draw, what's going to happen. That's where I lost the focus."

Sonmez didn't make the same mistake in Merida.

"On the last point I was aware it was a championship point, but I didn't let that feeling get me," she said. "I was just focusing on each shot that I was doing."

Sonmez plans to take that attitude into 2025, a season she's eager to play as a Top 100 player.

"And I want to stay there," she said. "I see myself there for a long time."

Tennis is a reflection of real life for Sonmez, who prizes sportsmanship above all

Sonmez can't remember exactly who gave her this advice first, but the maxim she lives by on and off court is a never-say-die one.

"If there's another day in your life, you still have a chance to do good things," she said. "And if there's another point in the match, you still have a chance to do good things. Never lose your hope.

"Tennis is so much like life. You always have to have hope, and the will to keep going. You're not playing with time, you're playing with points, and everything can turn around like this. You always have to be ready."

For Sonmez, doing good things isn't just about playing quality tennis. In the Monastir quarterfinals in September, she played a remarkably sportsmanlike match against her good friend Eva Lys, in which both players overruled calls that had initially gone in their favor.

"You know, it's just a game at the end of the day," Sonmez said. "The friendship matters more. I would be prefer to be remembered as a good person than for winning that point that I didn't deserve. What I did, it was around 3-3. But what she did was amazing, because she corrected it on her set point, a very important point.

"It's about being a good person, not beating the other person by not acting right."

Sonmez has worn a watermelon pin to support Palestinians

At several tournaments this year, Sonmez played her matches wearing a pin of a watermelon, the historic symbol of Palestinian resistance. She's proud to add her voice to fellow WTA stars such as Ons Jabeur and Mayar Sherif in support of a people facing what Amnesty International has called a genocide.

"It's a sensitive area for me," Sonmez said. "People in Palestine are suffering. I see the videos and photos and feel that there's not so much we can do.

"But we can always do our best -- it's like I was saying, you can be the best version of yourself. I want everyone to know that I'm standing with them. There are bad things going on all around the world, but I feel like they're not having the attention that they need. There is something very scary going on, and I want people to be aware of it. If I can take even a little bit of attention to them, that's good."