Wimbledon backs Turkish tennis player who displayed pro-Palestinian symbol

Organizers of Wimbledon say that a Turkish player’s use of a pro-Palestinian symbol as a tennis racket shock absorber does not meet the standards of making a political statement.

Zeynep Sonmez had been prevented from wearing a Palestinian flag pin, and instead opted to use a shock absorber on her racket that depicted a watermelon.

Watermelons are often used as a replacement symbol for the Palestinian flag because the colors — red, white, green and black — are the same.

Sonmez has suggested hypocrisy on the part of tournament organizers, noting that Ukrainian flags are permitted.

“We don’t allow political messaging from players on court, certainly [messages] that cause any type of disruption, so that has been consistent across the rules for a long time,” says Jamie Baker, tournament director.

“In terms of the watermelon, we don’t think that’s meeting the threshold for causing any type of disruption,” he says.

Images suggest Sonmez has used the watermelon dampener at previous tournaments. Wimbledon has particularly stringent rules in terms of dress code.