Tennis star says Wimbledon banned her from wearing pin in support of Palestine

Zeynep Sonmez used a watermelon-shaped vibration dampener on her racket (Picture: Getty)

Turkish tennis player Zeynep Sonmez claimed Wimbledon banned her from wearing a pin in support of Palestine while competing at the All England Club.

World No.51 Sonmez beat Ann Li in her first-round singles clash before suffering a straight-set defeat to America’s Claire Liu on Wednesday.

Sonmez returned on Thursday to compete in the women’s doubles alongside Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro but the pair were defeated in three sets by Shuko Aoyama and En Shuo Liang.

In all three matches, Sonmez’s racket had a vibration dampener in the shape of a watermelon, a well-known emblem of Palestinian solidarity.

The 24-year-old has often worn a similar pin on her d...