Australian Daria Saville has had her first-round match at Wimbledon interrupted by an environmental activist, who rushed on to the court and threw confetti on the grass.
During Saville’s first-set tiebreak against British No.1 Katie Boulter on Wednesday, the Just Stop Oil protester disrupted the match by scattering orange confetti before he was dragged away by security.
The incident did not help Saville, who was leading 4-2 when the protester burst on to the court. The two players helped clean up the court after the incident, but when play resumed Saville lost five points in a row to lose the set.
Saville, who’s been making a comeback after a serious knee injury, then fell apart as Boulter, the girlfriend of Australian No 1 Alex de Minaur, won 7-6 (7-4) 6-2.
“These were the toughest circumstances I have had to deal with, I thought I would help pick up the pieces: it was nice to focus on picking up the pieces rather than stewing on ‘what I am going to play next?’ Or “how to play the next point’,’’ she said.
Asked if the series of events was upsetting, she replied: “It was, oh my god, why on my court? I am the worst being able to focus.”
It was the second incident of the day on Court 18 after a woman and a man wearing T-shirts from Just Stop Oil — a protest group that wants the British government to stop new oil, gas and coal projects — were arrested after doing the same action during a men’s match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro.
The protestor is removed from Wimbledon’s Court 18. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
“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,” an All England Club spokesperson said in a statement after the Dimitrov match.
“Play on the court was temporarily paused and, following a suspension in play due to a rain delay, play (resumed).”
One of the activists in the original incident sat down on the court before being removed.
The All England Club has coordinated with London police and other agencies to increase security for this year’s tournament, in part as a result of protests at other major sports venues in Britain this year.
“Based on what has happened at other sporting events, and on the advice from our key partners, we have reviewed our security plans, which have now been uplifted for The Championships accordingly,” All England Club operations director Michelle Dite said last week.
“We have plans in place to mitigate the risks working in partnership with specialist agencies and the Metropolitan Police and should an incident occur, the appropriate specialist teams will respond,” Dite said.
Her comments came a day after people representing Just Stop Oil briefly disrupted play about five minutes after the start of the first Ashes Test at Lord’s. Players from both teams intervened when the protesters attempted to spread orange powder on the field.
Earlier in June, protesters held up the England cricket team bus during the Test against Ireland in London. Activists also have targeted Premier League soccer matches, the Premiership rugby final at Twickenham, and the world snooker championship in Sheffield this year.
© AAP
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