Two Just Stop Oil protestors disrupted Wednesday's first-round match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro on Court 18.
With Dimitrov a set and a break up, a man and woman made their way onto the court as the Bulgarian prepared to serve, throwing orange confetti and jigsaw pieces from a 1,000-piece Wimbledon Centre Court puzzle onto the grass.
The pair's actions were met by a cacophony of boos from the rest of the crowd, and play was interrupted as the protestors were removed and the confetti cleared by staff.
The protest is the latest in a long line of interferences to sporting events by Just Stop Oil, who have also disrupted the recent Ashes series between Australia and England.
In a statement, Just Stop Oil said that they targeted Wimbledon due to their sponsorship deal with Barclays Bank, who have allegedly given £30bn to oil and gas companies over the past two years.
"At 14:08, two Just Stop Oil supporters ran onto Court 18 at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, disrupting the match between Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov by throwing environmentally friendly orange confetti glitter and jigsaw pieces onto the courts before being removed," the statement read.
🎾 BREAKING: Just Stop Oil Disrupt @Wimbledon
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) July 5, 2023
🎉 "Once more, orange clouds hang over a British sporting event this summer—this time it's ticker tape rather than paint dust, but it is an intrusion and will need sorting out."
🚷 Sign up to take action at https://t.co/7BzUVS02dZ pic.twitter.com/2iaoo6GNdO
"Play was briefly delayed whilst marshals picked up the pieces. Today's action comes as the @metoffice confirmed on Monday that this June has been the hottest on record, with the average monthly temperature of 15.8°C exceeding the previous record set in 1976 by 0.9°C.
"The @WimbledonChampionships are currently under fire after signing a sponsorship deal with @Barclays. who have given £30 billion to oil and gas companies, including @exxonmobil, @Shell and @TotalEnergies in the last two years."
The All England Lawn Tennis Club confirmed that the two protestors were swiftly removed from the grounds and had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage.
Wimbledon organisers had already come under fire for unprecedented queuing times to get into the grounds, as security checks were heightened in fear of such protests occurring.
Four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Tim Henman also condemned the "disappointing" protest, with a spate of Wimbledon matches having already faced weather-related disruption over the past two days.
"You prepare as best you can. Obviously the challenge when you've got 35,000 plus people coming to your grounds and you've got 18 fields of play, it's not easy," Henman told BBC Sport.
"I think everyone needs to understand the facts and where these people have come from but it's frustrating. We've had enough disruption with the weather but to get a disruption like that is disappointing."
Dimitrov and Shimabukuro's contest was also delayed by rain not long after, but the former ultimately saw out a straightforward 6-1 6-2 6-1 win.
Ben Knapton
