Just two days ago, Alexander Blockx suffered an unfortunate incident during practice when his ankle twisted after getting caught in a tarp at the back of a Roland Garros court, ultimately forcing him to withdraw from the Grand Slam. Following the incident, his coach reportedly even considered seeking compensation, citing an apparent lapse in equipment handling by the authorities. And now, a similar situation has surfaced again involving Zeynep Sonmez.

On Friday, Sonmez and her German partner Tatjana Maria stepped onto Court 6 to face the Ukrainian duo of Dayana Yastremska and Anhelina Kalinina. They had just come off a hard-fought 6-2, 7-6 win over French pair Carole Monnet and Estelle Cascino, but few expected the second round to deliver such a shocking and abrupt exit.

Yastremska and Kalinina were leading the first set 2-0. That is when a mishap happened. While heading to receive a back-court ball, Sonmez tripped over an advertising board and crashed into the barrier of the court. She was visibly hurt as the umpire called immediate medical help.

Zeynep Sonmez seemingly hurt her knee, shin, and ankle. As a result, the 24-year-old Turkish pro had to retire from the match, resulting in a walkover for the Ukrainian pair. With that, Sonmez joined the growing list of players with mid-tournament exits due to injuries in the 2026 French Open. Baptiste also bowed out after suffering a brutal mid-match injury.

While Blockx suffered an ankle sprain, Baptiste was wheeled off the court during her second-round match against Wang Xiyu. After taking a nasty fall on the court, the American suffered a knee injury involving ACL and meniscus damage.

However, Sonmez wasn’t the only player to run into trouble with on-court setup at the 2026 French Open. Earlier, British WTA star Katie Boulter had a similar scare during her match against Anastasia Potapova. Boulter ended up tripping over raised on-court branding and advertising fixtures placed along the baseline by the French Tennis Federation, highlighting yet another concerning incident at Roland Garros.

While she managed to recover her footing and avoid serious injury, she spoke out hours after the match on X. “THESE THINGS HAVE TO GO,” wrote Boulter. “Got lucky last night, but next time I might not be.” However, the backlash didn’t stop there.

Fans slam French Open over on-court marketing obstacles

Fans online swarmed in to share their reactions on Zeynep Sonmez’s incident. One fan questioned the reasoning behind installing the obstacles in the players’ way. “I don’t know why they’ve ever allowed these ads that are clearly in the players’ way. Mind-boggling,” a user wrote.

Interestingly, Wimbledon remains the only Grand Slam that does not place advertising boards within the courts. In contrast, the other three majors have long continued the tradition of incorporating on-court brand advertising into their playing arenas.

Meanwhile, another fan came in with a harsher criticism. “Again? This is beyond idiotic. Just put those things away,” the user commented. However, amid that, a few also believed players should unite against the French Open to implement a change. “Players should insist on having those removed,” a fan noted.

But then again, some also called to bring potential compensations for the players who bow out of the tournament due to the on-court marketing obstacles. “There needs to be consequences for this. Loss of health, loss of potential earnings, and not making the field free of all encumbrances,” a netizen wrote.

However, the majority of the fans online were furious with how the organizers have been ignorant about the players’ safety. “Player safety should always be first priority,” a user commented. Many even appeared displeased with how the stakeholders failed to address the matter, despite Katie Boulter suffering a similar incident on Thursday.

“People talked about this just yesterday and how dangerous it is. If Roland Garros had listened, this injury would have never happened today,” a fan commented. So, the uproar was visible. And why wouldn’t it?

For many fans and analysts, this has raised concerns about player safety. They argue that there should be enough clear space behind the baseline to allow players to slide and stretch for heavy groundstrokes, especially on clay courts. With questions like these now being raised, it remains to be seen whether any changes will follow in the future.