Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sonmez has reached a career-high by becoming the first Turkish player to break into the top 50 of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings.
The latest WTA rankings, released Monday, saw the 24-year-old climb three places from No. 51 to No. 48, extending her record as the highest-ranked Turkish player in WTA history.
Sonmez’s latest milestone comes after a breakthrough season in which she established herself on the WTA Tour with a string of strong performances against higher-ranked opponents.
Earlier this year, she became the first Turkish player to defeat a top-10 opponent, Jasmine Paolini, at the Stuttgart Open. Her steady results throughout the season then propelled her into the world’s top 60 before she continued her climb into the top 50.
The Istanbul-born player has steadily rewritten Turkish tennis history over the past year. In 2025, she captured her maiden WTA Tour singles title and produced the best Grand Slam performance by a Turkish woman in the Open Era by reaching the third round at Wimbledon. She has since continued to climb the rankings through consistent performances on the international circuit.
Sonmez is currently Türkiye’s highest-ranked women’s singles player and one of the country’s leading hopes on the professional tour as she prepares for the remainder of the 2026 season