Two matches at Wimbledon were interrupted Wednesday as climate activists ran on the court and threw orange material on the tennis grass.
Two protesters wearing T-shirts from Just Stop Oil put a pause on the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro with their antics, which included throwing orange confetti and jigsaw pieces on the court amid boos from the crowd.
Security quickly corralled the two activists and moved them off the court. The two were arrested “on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage,” according to the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, Wimbledon’s organizer.
“Following an incident on Court 18, two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the grounds,” the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, Wimbledon’s organizer, said in a statement to the BBC.
Ball boys and ball girls cleaned up the orange pieces before play resumed.
“Obviously it’s not pleasant,” Dimitrov said. “In the end of the day, there is not much you can do. I think everyone in a way did their part as quick as possible.”
The next contest on the same court was also interrupted by another man from that same environmental group. He was corralled by two security guards and was arrested, too, the club said. The second match that was affected was British wild-card entry Katie Boulter’s against Daria Saville of Australia. Boulter and Saville helped clean up the debris before their match resumed.
This article is based in part on wire service reports.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.