PARIS — For Turkish women’s tennis, a historic first arrived as a pair.
Cagla Buyukakcay, 26, and Ipek Soylu, 20, playing in this year’s French Open, became the first Turkish women to reach the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament.
Buyukakcay made further history on Monday by winning her first-round match against Aliaksandra Sasnovich, 5-7, 7-6 (2), 6-2. Her run ended Wednesday with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 loss to 22nd-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Buyukakcay, ranked 83rd, will climb about 10 spots after her four victories in Paris, including three in the qualifying draw. That will leave her on the cusp of the Olympic cutoff, which is based on the rankings released after the French Open.