Zeynep Sonmez retired in the third game of her French Open doubles match on Friday after colliding with a foot-high sponsorship sign while chasing a ball, leaving the 24-year-old with a bruised knee and requiring two stitches.
The incident has put court-side safety at the center of attention at French Open 2026, arriving a day after Katie Boulter had a near-miss with the same type of board and as players press organisers for changes to on-court advertising.
Sonmez said on social media that the collision forced her out of the match and asked bluntly whether a player must be seriously hurt before those boards are removed. Tournament medics treated her on court; she left the stadium having needed two stitches and described a bruised knee.
The immediate reaction from other players added weight to Sonmez’s complaint. Boulter, who avoided injury on Thursday, wrote that “these things have to go” and warned she had been lucky this time and might not be next. Four-time champion Iga Swiatek also called for the boards to be removed, and Marta Kostyuk said she sometimes refuses to chase certain balls out of fear of the advertising blocks.
Organisers have not yet announced any change. The French Tennis Federation has been contacted for comment, and the courtside advertising remains in place despite the string of incidents this week — a gap between players’ demands and what spectators still see at Roland Garros.
Players and coaches point to two linked factors. A Paris heatwave has produced firmer, bouncier courts that push returners farther behind the baseline, increasing the chance they will run into boards that sit only a step or two beyond the playing lines. The problem has been discussed alongside other safety mishaps: earlier this week Alexander Blockx withdrew from the men’s draw after spraining his right ankle when he landed on a tarpaulin rain cover at the Jean Bouin practice facility and said he’d “heard a snap,” sarcastically blaming the “really necessary” covers before later editing his post.
The persistence of the advertising boards is the clear friction point. Players want to stand further behind the baseline to receive serve on the firmer courts, but the sponsorship panels remain at baseline level; Sonmez’s retirement and Boulter’s near-miss make that mismatch visible and immediate on the court.
The question now is procedural and urgent: will the French Tennis Federation act before another player is hurt? Tournament organisers have been asked for a response and have not announced any removals; with matches continuing and courts staying firm in the heat, players’ calls for removing the boards have sharpened into a single, urgent demand that remains unanswered.
For readers following the draw and results at Roland Garros, these safety debates are unfolding alongside match play — see current coverage and draws, including French Open 2026 Draw: Swiatek, Djokovic, Rybakina and Zverev Set for Day 4 ( and other daily stories like French Open 2026 Results: Elina Svitolina's Letter Frames Monfils' Farewell (
