Who is Zeynep Sonmez, the Wimbledon with the ‘Palestine’ watermelon racket? 

Zeynep Sonmez‘s 2026 Wimbledon singles campaign came to a halt in the second round following a 7-5, 6-3 defeat to American Claire Liu.

But the 24-year-old Turkish tennis player left an indelible mark on the tournament by taking a quiet yet powerful stance for Palestine, on the iconic grass courts of London.

Prevented by tournament organisers from displaying a pro-Palestinian solidarity brooch on her attire, Sonmez creatively attached a watermelon-themed vibration dampener on her racket strings.

The watermelon has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity and pride among activists after Israel suppressed displays of the Palestinian flag. The watermelon not only has the same colours as Palestine’s flag – red, white and black – but the fruit is also one of the most popular crops for farmers across Palestine.

Speaking to Turkiye’s Anadolu agency shortly after her match, Sonmez exposed the bureaucratic hurdles she faced and what she perceived as a glaring double standard from international tennis administrators regarding political expression.

“I used to wear a brooch, but tournaments no longer allow me to wear it,” she said. Sonmez pointed out that tennis authorities have not barred athletes from displaying the Ukrainian flag in solidarity with Kyiv during the war with Russia.

“I argued with the managers that the Ukrainian flag is allowed, but the Palestinian one is not. Following our conversations, they stated that they strictly would not permit it,” she added.

Faced with a strict prohibition on her clothing accessories, Sonmez has adopted the watermelon symbol as a permanent fixture on her racket.

She said tournament officials could not object to her specific equipment choices, and her quiet defiance drew praise back home in Turkiye.

Turkish Youth and Sports Minister Osman Askin Bak publicly applauded her show of solidarity amid the humanitarian tragedy in Palestine and said this showed how sports can be used to promote universal human values.

Omer Celik, spokesperson for Turkiye’s governing Justice and Development Party (AKP), also praised Sonmez for keeping human dignity alive amid Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed at least 73,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023.

Sonmez expressed immense gratitude for the overwhelming wave of national support, emphasising to Anadolu that this backing made her feel as though she were never alone on the court.

From Istanbul ballgirl to the ‘golden racket’

Beyond the recent political spotlight, Sonmez is authoring an unprecedented chapter in Turkish sports history. Born in Istanbul on April 30, 2002, and with deep familial roots in the Black Sea coastal town of Arhavi, Sonmez’s journey to the upper echelons of tennis has been built on long-term dedication.

Her greatest dreams were ignited a decade ago when she worked as a humble ballgirl at a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tournament in Istanbul. Watching her compatriot Cagla Buyukakcay secure a historic title on home soil served as the ultimate inspiration for the young athlete.

Recognised early for her vast potential, local Turkish sports media confidently dubbed her the “golden racket of the future” as early as 2016. She has spent 15 years turning that prediction into reality, eventually earning the prestigious Athlete of the Year award at the Harper’s Bazaar Turkiye Women of the Year ceremony in Istanbul following her breakthrough 2025 season.

Guided by her current coaches, Issam Jellali and Mehmet Bayraktar, Sonmez’s meteoric rise was prompted by crucial technical adjustments and immense mental resilience. A critical turning point in her career took place after a heartbreaking Wimbledon qualifying defeat to Ukrainian player Daria Snigur.

Following this profound loss, Sonmez intentionally adopted a much more aggressive, net-rushing style to perfectly complement her famously strong movement and agility on the court.

Throughout her rapid ascent, she has fiercely emphasised the values of hope, relentless focus, and pure sportsmanship. This unwavering commitment to integrity was famously demonstrated during a notable fair-play moment at a tournament in Monastir. During a tense match, she and her opponent Eva Lys remarkably corrected line calls in each other’s favour, a rare display of mutual respect that earned her widespread admiration across the professional tour.

Rewriting the Turkish tennis record books

Her recent campaigns reflect a player operating at the absolute peak of her career. Sonmez has accumulated $625,019 in career prize money, registering a highly competitive win/loss record of 24 wins and 15 losses across 30 competitive matches this calendar year alone. Her tactical evolution has translated into historic, record-breaking milestones on the international tour.

She claimed her first career WTA 250 singles title at the hard-court event in Merida, Mexico, in 2024, dominating American Ann Li 6-2, 6-1 in a swift 70-minute final.

With continued strong showings across the globe, including a second-round appearance at the prestigious WTA 1000 event in Rome, Sonmez shattered Buyukakcay’s previous national ranking record of No 60. She officially became the highest-ranked Turkish tennis player in WTA history, climbing past the Top 60 to reach her current career-high rank of No 51 in the world.

Sonmez has repeatedly proven her formidable ability to compete with and defeat some of the sport’s elite on its biggest and most intimidating stages. She made history by becoming the very first Turkish player in the Open Era, man or woman, to reach the third round of a Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon in the summer of 2025.

Proving that her success on grass was no fluke, she successfully repeated this impressive third-round feat on the hard courts of the Australian Open in 2026. During her remarkable run in Melbourne, she defeated Hungary’s Anna Bondar in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, and secured a stunning three-set victory over the 11th-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova (7-5, 4-6, 6-4) before eventually falling to Yulia Putintseva. Furthermore, she added a huge milestone victory to her growing resume at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, where she thoroughly dominated world No 8 Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2 to secure the first Top 10 win of her career.