Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sönmez announced that she has been playing matches at the Wimbledon tennis tournament with a vibration dampener featuring a watermelon symbol on her racket to show support for Palestine.
Sönmez noted that tournament organizers previously did not allow her to wear a pin with a pro-Palestine message. "They allow the Ukrainian flag to be displayed but do not permit shows of support for Palestine," said the national athlete, adding that she therefore chose an alternative approach.
"So I can no longer wear the pin. But I can use the vibration dampener, they can't object to that. So I put the watermelon symbol on my racket," Sönmez said.
The watermelon symbol has recently become a symbol of solidarity with Palestine worldwide, often used alongside the keffiyeh.