The impending start of the US Open has players aggressively utilizing practice drills to prepare for intense tournament competition. Rain previously disrupted practice schedules at Flushing Meadows before another sudden obstacle completely derailed a highly anticipated hitting session. This bizarre scheduling twist forced two notable competitors to immediately cancel their planned on-court collaboration.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
Coco Gauff and Zeynep Sönmez were preparing to practice together before making a shocking discovery regarding their official tournament draw. The athletes suddenly realized they were scheduled to face each other in the opening round, instantly turning a friendly session into their first professional Grand Slam meeting. Sönmez recently shared her humorous perspective regarding the chaotic locker room realization.
“Yeah, actually it was funny because we were about to practice with Coco,” said Turkish star Zeynep Sönmez. She laughed and continued, “Like, 15 minutes after we were supposed to practice, we found out that we were playing against each other… we had to get different courts.”
Gauff enters the New York tournament as the No. 4 overall seed. Sönmez arrives ranked World No. 52, having never faced the American superstar in a professional matchup. These statistical rankings establish a very clear competitive hierarchy for their highly anticipated opening clash.
Neither player has faced the other on court, giving both players a completely new challenge in Flushing Meadows. Sönmez has won 28 of her 47 matches this season, giving her a 59.6 percent winning percentage. Gauff boasts a much stronger 75.5 percent winning rate after securing 37 victories across 49 matches. The American superstar carries incredible momentum into the tournament after thoroughly dominating her summer hard-court schedule.
The Turkish player patiently navigates rallies while waiting for specific opportunities to aggressively move forward. Gauff utilizes elite movement to defend difficult points and instantly convert them into attacking opportunities. The winner will face an incredibly demanding path through the remainder of the bracket.
Gauff could potentially face Paula Badosa in the second round before meeting Sara Bejlek again in the third round. Iva Jovic and Mirra Andreeva loom as possible knockout-stage opponents, while Elena Rybakina or Iga Swiatek are projected semifinal adversaries. Sönmez would inherit this exact same gauntlet if she manages to replicate a historic tournament scenario from a previous season.
Gauff and Sönmez aren’t the first victims of Grand Slam draws
It remains incredibly rare for scheduled practice partners to draw each other in the opening round of a major championship. The Australian Open witnessed an almost identical strange first-round meeting in 2021 when Gael Monfils faced Emil Ruusuvuori. This extensive shared preparation time produced a highly entertaining public reaction from the lower-ranked athlete.
Ruusuvuori publicly joked about the mathematical improbability of drawing his practice partner out of 127 available players. He utilized those friendly practice sessions to gather highly valuable tactical intelligence against the formidable No. 10 seeded Monfils. Their extensive familiarity quickly translated into an absolute physical marathon.
Monfils aggressively took the opening set 6-3 before Ruusuvuori orchestrated a massive competitive comeback. The underdog ultimately secured the victory 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 following three hours and 46 minutes of exhausting tennis. Sönmez will attempt to replicate that exact underdog triumph as the 2026 US Open officially concludes in New York this September.