LONDON — Protesters from the climate change activist group Just Stop Oil disrupted Wimbledon on Wednesday after showering Court No. 18 in orange confetti.
Despite increased security at the tournament, two protesters managed to get access to Court No. 18 and caused Sho Shimabukuro‘s match against Grigor Dimitrov to be halted.
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The court invasion occurred at the start of the second game in the second set with Dimitrov serving.
The two protesters transported the orange confetti into the grounds by hiding it in Wimbledon-branded jigsaw boxes.
One of the two protesters was immediately guided off court by security while another sat next to the net before being escorted from the court.
The Metropolitan police have confirmed that a man and a woman are in police custody.
“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,” Wimbledon said in a statement after the incident.
“Play on the court was temporarily paused and, following a suspension in play due to a rain delay, play is about to resume.”
The All England Club stepped up security ahead of this year’s Wimbledon in anticipation of this threat.
Bags searches were more thorough than previous years, with chalk added to the prohibited items list. These more stringent security measures were blamed for the lengthy delays experienced by some spectators in getting access to the grounds Monday.
Undercover police officers have also been placed among spectators to identify specific threats as part of the attempts to prevent protesters gaining access to the court.
“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 on Thursday.
“We have plans in place to mitigate the risks working in partnership with specialist agencies and the Metropolitan Police. Should an incident occur the appropriate specialist teams will…
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