British newspapers have been interested in the fact that Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sonmez, participating in the Wimbledon tennis championship (in London), resorted to placing a vibration immobilizer bearing the watermelon symbol , which represents the Palestinian flag, on her racket, after the tournament organizers prevented her from wearing a decorative pin expressing her support for Palestine.
Sonmaz told the Turkish news agency Anadolu: “Raising the Ukrainian flag is allowed, but showing support for Palestine is not allowed.”
Sonmaz added: “So I can no longer wear the decorative pin. As for the vibration dampener, I can use it, and they cannot object to it, and that is why I put the watermelon symbol on my racket.”
In addition to the keffiyeh, the “watermelon” symbol has become an icon of support for Palestine around the world, as its colors (red, white, black and green) match the colors of the Palestinian flag, as noted by the British newspaper “The Independent”.
The newspaper noted that in his remarks to reporters on Friday, tournament director Jimmy Baker said that players have always been prohibited from making political messages on the court, pointing out that this is the case in most Grand Slam tournaments.
Baker stated that the “Ukrainian situation” was “exceptional,” adding: “You are aware of everything that has happened here in terms of our government’s directives and the nature of the international response; we responded to that and provided support to the Ukrainian players for a long time, so I think that was a special case.”
Wimbledon had responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 by banning Russian and Belarusian players from participating in the tournament.
Baker added: “As for watermelons, we don’t see them reaching the point of causing any kind of disturbance.”
In contrast to the Independent's neutral handling of the issue, with headlines like "Wimbledon tennis star uses watermelon-shaped shock absorber after Palestinian flag ban" and "Zeynep Sonmez raises questions about why Ukrainian flag allowed while Palestinian flag banned," the British right-wing newspapers, known for their support of Israel, adopted a veiled attack with accusatory headlines. The Telegraph headlined its report "Turkish tennis player displays pro-Palestine symbol after Wimbledon ban," with the sub-headline "Zeynep Sonmez uses a watermelon-shaped shock absorber, a symbol known as an alternative to the Palestinian flag." Clearly, the newspaper deliberately uses the term "Palestinian territories," not "Palestine," in a blatant denial of the Palestinian state. It doesn't even add "occupied" to the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel under international law. Right-wing newspapers that support the Israeli occupation usually use the term "disputed territories," not "occupied," to describe the occupied Palestinian territories.
For its part, the British newspaper “The Times” headlined its report “Wimbledon backs Turkish player who displayed pro-Palestine symbol,” and wrote in its sub-headline, “Player Zeynep Sonmez used a watermelon-shaped vibration absorber – a symbol of solidarity with Palestine – despite the ban on sending political messages.”
It is noteworthy that the headline of the Times of Israel was identical to that of the British Times in addressing the issue and the symbol of the “watermelon,” which has clearly become a source of anxiety for supporters of Israel.
