Turkish national tennis player Zeynep Sönmez climbed to a career-high world ranking of 54 in the latest Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) standings released on June 22.
The 24-year-old moved up seven places from last week’s rankings, improving on her previous career-best position and continuing her rise on the international circuit.
Sönmez secured the ranking boost after reaching the second round of the WTA 250 Nottingham Open in the U.K. During the tournament, she came through the qualifying rounds before defeating second-seeded Canadian Leylah Fernandez in straight sets in the main draw.
Although her run ended in the round of 16 against Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic, the points she collected in Nottingham were enough to lift her to a new career-high ranking.
Sönmez has enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2026, becoming the highest-ranked Turkish woman in WTA rankings history and continuing to set new milestones for Turkish tennis. On May 18, she had climbed to world No. 59, surpassing Çağla Büyükakçay’s record.
At the 2026 Australian Open, she advanced from qualifying rounds and continued her run by defeating world No. 11 Ekaterina Alexandrova in three sets, overcoming Anna Bondar to reach the third round, the best-ever result by a Turkish player in the tournament.
In 2024, she won her first WTA singles title at the Merida Open after defeating Ann Li in straight sets, becoming only the second Turkish player to claim a WTA singles trophy.
