Roland Garros under fire after Zeynep Sonmez suffers freak injury on court

Turkish player Zeynep Sonmez was forced to withdraw from her second-round women’s doubles match at the French Open after suffering an unfortunate injury during play. Sonmez, who was teaming up with Tatjana Maria, chased down a shot and collided with the Lacoste advertising structure positioned behind the baseline. She received treatment from the physio shortly after, but eventually had to retire from the contest with what appeared to be an ankle problem.

The incident has once again raised concerns over the placement of courtside structures at Roland Garros. Just days earlier, Belgian youngster Alexander Blockx also injured his ankle during a practice session after crashing into the rain tarp while tracking a ball.

Players and fans alike have frequently questioned the necessity of keeping the tarps and Lacoste display boards so close to the court, especially when rain is not expected. Critics argue that the sponsor installations appear to serve little functional purpose beyond branding and could pose unnecessary risks to player safety.

KATIE BOULTER DEMANDS ACTION ON AD BOARDS

Somnez wasn't the first female player to suffer a freak accident during her second-round match. Boulter, while facing Anastasia Potapova, tripped and fell on the Lacoste ad board, making her to drop the racquet.

Boulter ended up losing the match and going out of the tournament, but users on social media noticed her freak accident. When one such user said that Roland Garros should be sued for placing the advertisement boards in such fashion.

Boulter responded to this and said that she was lucky to escape from an injury and urged the organisers to remove the board.

"THESE THINGS HAVE TO GO. Got lucky last night but next time I might not be" said Boulter on X.

Despite these mishaps, Roland Garros or French Open haven't taken any steps to remove the obstacles from the courts and they continue to remain.