Turkish player Zeynep Sönmez was forced to retire from a women’s doubles match at Roland Garros after colliding with a Lacoste-branded courtside advertising board, sustaining two stitches and a bruised knee. The incident on Court 6 was the fifth such mishap in five days, according to reports from HeadTopics.com,following a near-miss for British No. 3 Katie Boulter and a withdrawal by Belgian prospect Alexander Blockx due to a practice-court tarpaulin injury. Tournament organizers have now announced adjustments to court layouts, but players and critics are demanding more permanent solutions.

The Lacoste board that ended Sönmez's match

During a second-round doubles match, Zeynep Sönmez and her partner Tatjana Maria were trailing 2-0 when Sönmez tripped over a foot-high Lacoste advertising board near the back fence of Court 6, crashing into the wall. After receiving medical attention,she was unable to continue, forcing an abrupt retirement. As HeadTopics.com reported, Sönmez later posted on X: “I stand with Katie. 5 incidents in 5 days. I left the court with 2 stitches and a bruised knee. Thankfully, it wasn’t worse.” She asked whether organizers must wait for a serious injury before removing the boards.

5 incidents in 5 days: Boulter, Blockx, and a pattern of hazards

Katie Boulter narrowly escaped serious injury the day before when she tripped over an identical sponsor hoarding on Court 13 during her second-round singles match against Anastasia Potapova. Though unharmed, Boulter wrote on social media: “THESE THINGS HAVE TO GO. Got lucky last night but next time I might not be.” Earlier in the week, Alexander Blockx sprained his ankle during practice when he tripped on tarpaulin rain covers stored at the back of a court, forcing his withdrawal from the tournament. The source notes that these five incidents in rapid succession have sparked a fierce debate over whether commercial interests are being piroritized over athlete safety.

Why clay-court tennis needs more than the 6.4-meter minimum

Four-time French Open champion Iga Świątek emphasized that clay-court tennis inherently demands more physical space because high-bouncing balls force players to defend from deep behind the baseline. “Obviously if these things happen, there needs to be a reaction, because there are other ways for us to be visible for sure,” she said. The French Tennis Federation (FFT) noted in an official statement that all courts at Stade Roland Garros exceed the international circuit’s minimum distance requirement of 6.4 meters between the baseline and the back wall. Yet players argue that meeting minimum standards has proven insufficient, especially when sponsor boards are placed within that already tight space.

David Goffin's 2017 ankle break and a decade of warnings

Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk recalled Belgian star David Goffin’s tournament-ending ankle injury at Roland Garros in 2017, also caused by a court-boundary obstacle. As the source reports, critics argue that despite years of warnings, tennis governing bodies continue to compromise player movement to maximize on-camera commercial space. The FFT’s response—adjustments to the area around the playing surface and an ongoing dialogue with players—leaves key questions unanswered: Will the changes survive beyond this year’s tournament? And who bears responsibility if a star player sustains a career-altering injury before permanent fixes are implemented? The Roland Garros safety crisis is far from resolved.