Wimbledon has permitted a Turkish tennis player to display a watermelon symbol on her racket — widely recognised as a symbol of Palestinian solidarity — while simultaneously telling her she was not allowed to wear a Palestine pin, in a distinction that has prompted sharp questions about the tournament’s approach to political expression on court.
Tournament director Jamie Baker confirmed that the watermelon-shaped vibration dampener used by world number 51 Zeynep Sönmez, 24, did not breach the All England Club’s rules on political messaging. “We don’t allow any kind of political messaging from players on court, certainly that caused any type of disruption,” Baker said. “But in terms of the watermelon, we don’t think that’s meeting the threshold for causing any type of disruption… or worth any punishment.”
Sönmez herself explained how the symbol came to appear on her racket following discussions with tournament organisers. “I used to wear a pin,” she told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. “Tournaments no longer allow me to wear it. We had a discussion with the organisers because the Ukrainian flag is allowed but the Palestinian is not. They ultimately told us they definitely would not allow it. So, I can’t wear the pin. I can use the vibration dampener, and they can’t object to that. That’s why I put the watermelon symbol on my racket.”
The watermelon has become a widely used symbol of Palestinian identity because it contains the same colours as the Palestinian flag — red, green, white and black — and has historically been used as an alternative emblem in contexts where the flag itself has been restricted.
The distinction between what Sönmez was permitted and what Ukrainian player Daria Snigur was allowed drew particular scrutiny. Snigur was photographed wearing a Ukrainian flag pin on her white dress during the Championships. Baker argued the two situations were not equivalent. “The Ukrainian situation was obviously quite unique, and we were following our government guidance, and the international response. We provided support to our Ukrainian players for quite a while, so that was an individual situation,” he said.
Sönmez’s campaign ended in the second round after a 7-5, 6-3 defeat to American Claire Liu on Wednesday. She also competed in the women’s doubles alongside Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro before the pair were beaten in three sets by Shuko Aoyama and En Shuo Liang.
The 24-year-old has been open about her views for some time. Speaking to the WTA’s official website in 2024, she said: “It’s a sensitive area for me. People in Palestine are suffering. I see the videos and photos and feel that there’s not so much we can do. But we can always do our best. I want everyone to know that I’m standing with them. There are bad things going on all around the world, but I feel like they’re not having the attention that they need. There is something very scary going on, and I want people to be aware of it. If I can take even a little bit of attention to them, that’s good.”
Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports Osman Askin Bak publicly praised Sönmez on social media, writing that the country was “proud of our athlete Zeynep Sönmez, who holds her conscience, courage, and human values above all else,” adding that her stance demonstrated “that sport is not merely about competition; it is also a carrier of universal values.”
Wimbledon operates one of the strictest dress codes in sport, requiring players to wear almost entirely white, though it has made exceptions for political expression in the past, including allowing black ribbons to be worn following the Russian bombing of a children’s hospital in Kyiv.
