Zeynep Sonmez has moved to a new career-high and become the highest-ranked Turkish player in WTA history after a rise to No. 59 this week. The 24-year-old climbed from No. 65 following a second-round showing at the WTA 1000 event in Rome, eclipsing Cagla Buyukakcay’s previous national high of No. 60 from 2016.

Buyukakcay and Sonmez remain the only two Turkish players to crack the Top 100 in WTA rankings. They are also the only two Turkish players to have won WTA titles: Buyukakcay captured the clay-court trophy in Istanbul in 2016, and Sonmez won the hard-court event in Merida, Mexico in 2024.

Sonmez has a direct personal link to that earlier milestone. She was a ballgirl during Buyukakcay’s run to the Istanbul title a decade ago, and told the WTA it was an inspiration. “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.”

Her rise to No. 59 follows a breakthrough season on the biggest stages. Last summer at Wimbledon she became the first Turkish player in the Open Era, woman or man, to reach the third round of a Grand Slam. She repeated that third-round appearance at the Australian Open this year.

Sonmez has also established consistent form on tour, advancing at least one round in her last six events, all at WTA 500 level or higher. Highlights of that run include a WTA 500 quarterfinal in Merida and a third-round showing at the WTA 1000 in Madrid. She also recorded the first Top 10 victory of her career against Jasmine Paolini in Stuttgart.

© 2026 Robert Prange

Ben Shelton captured the 2026 BMW Open by Bitpanda, defeating fourth-seeded Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-5 in Sunday’s singles final. Playing before packed stands on Center Court at the MTTC Iphitos, Shelton jumped to a 4-0 lead in the opening set and never surrendered his composure.

Cobolli raised his level as the match progressed, but the world No. 6 stood firm, saving all six break points he faced and converting three of nine chances. The match lasted one hour and 30 minutes.

“I came out at a really high level,” said Shelton, who earned his fifth career title and third at ATP 500 level following Tokyo in 2023 and Dallas earlier this year.

“I have done that before against him, but the toughest thing is maintaining it, as he raises his level. I was able to do that in the second set, hanging in there when he played some great tennis, and I came through to win it in straight sets.

“I am happy with my performance this week. I got better and better as the week went on, and I am pleased with the work my team put in here.”

Shelton received a prize cheque of €478,935, a brand-new BMW iX3 and traditional Bavarian Lederhosen. He also collected 500 ATP Ranking points.

“The car is great. It might be difficult to get it back to Florida, where I live,” Shelton said with a smile.

The Atlanta native now holds the biggest clay-court title by an American man since Andre Agassi captured the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome in 2002, the year Shelton was born. He made clear he sees this victory as part of a broader push on the surface.

“It’s huge. I have big ambitions on clay – a surface I want to keep improving on each year. It has become one of my favourite surfaces to play on.

“It’s a short season and some of the Americans choose not to play every event. But we had two guys in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year. Success on clay is coming back. I am looking forward to being part of this progression of U.S. men’s tennis on clay. On the women’s side, they have a lockdown as they won the French last year. We as the men have some more to do but we are heading into the right direction. This is just one step in a long swing and let’s see what happens.”

Elena Rybakina captured her second Porsche Tennis Grand Prix trophy, defeating Karolina Muchova 7-5, 6-1 in a one hour and 18 minute final on Center Court. The top seed overcame a spirited comeback in the first set from the No. 7 seed before asserting control in the second.

Rybakina, the reigning 2026 Australian Open champion, is set to return to No. 1 in the Race to the WTA Finals standings after the victory. Since her major triumph in Melbourne, the 26-year-old produced steady results but had not claimed another title, finishing runner-up to the world No. 1 at the BNP Paribas Open and falling in the Miami Open semifinals.

With Aryna Sabalenka absent from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix because of injury, Rybakina targeted a strong start to her clay-court season and lost just one set across four matches to complete that mission. She advanced through a third-set tiebreaker against Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals, handled No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva after Andreeva had stunned No. 3 seed Iga Swiatek, and then carried momentum into the final.

Against Muchova, Rybakina raced to a 5-2 lead early in the opening set before Muchova fought back to level at 5-5 and saved two set points as she tried to force a tiebreak. Rybakina converted her third set point to close out the first set and then dominated the second, building a 5-0 advantage. Muchova avoided a bagel with a game for 5-1, but Rybakina served out the match to love.

Muchova arrived in Stuttgart off a breakthrough season that included her first WTA 1000 title at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open. She had also snapped losing streaks against Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina en route to the final, and she was the last woman to beat Rybakina before Rybakina went on to win the Australian Open. On Sunday, however, Rybakina’s form proved decisive as she lifted her second Porsche in three years.