3 protesters arrested at Wimbledon after interrupting matches by throwing confetti on court
CTV
Grigor Dimitrov was about to serve at Wimbledon when two environmental activists jumped out of the stands at Court 18 and disrupted his match by scattering orange confetti and puzzle pieces on the grass.
Grigor Dimitrov was about to serve at Wimbledon when two environmental activists jumped out of the stands at Court 18 and disrupted his match by scattering orange confetti and puzzle pieces on the grass. His initial instinct Wednesday? Get involved and try to stop them.
"But then I also realized," the three-time Grand Slam semifinalist said, "that's not my place to do that."
Instead, security guards hauled away the woman and man wearing T-shirts from Just Stop Oil -- an organization that wants the British government to stop new oil, gas and coal projects -- and the two were arrested "on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage," according to the All England Club.
The next contest on that same court, best known as the site of John Isner's 2010 victory over Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history, 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.
"Obviously it's not pleasant," said Dimitrov, a 32-year-old from Bulgaria who is seeded 21st in the men's bracket and ended up beating Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. "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 second match that was affected was British wild-card entry Katie Boulter's 7-6 (4), 6-2 win against Daria Saville of Australia. Boulter and Saville helped clean up the debris before their match resumed.
As it happened, a rain delay came as the court was cleared after the interruption of Dimitrov's match.
