Wimbledon invaded for the second time by 'Just Stop Oil' protesters, individual dragged off the court after repeat confetti disruption

Wimbledon fell prey to a second ‘Just Stop Oil’ protest just hours after the first incident on Wednesday, July 5.

True to its word, UK-based environmental activist group ‘Just Stop Oil’ staged a disruptive protest on Court 18 amid home favorite Katie Boulter’s opening round match against Australia’s Daria Saville.

This was the second incident of the day. A similarly staged protest was carried out by two individuals on the same court just hours prior -- during Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov’s first round clash with Japanese Sho Shimabukuro.

During Boulter and Saville’s opening set tiebreak, an elderly person was seen running on the court. The individual wore a ‘Just Stop Oil’ T-Shirt underneath his windcheater. He followed the same routine as the previous protest, and threw orange-colored confetti contained in a box of Wimbledon’s official jigsaw puzzle.

The man was swifty dragged off the court by the security guards, and the play was resumed shortly thereafter.

According to British sports news correspondent James Gray, the protestor was identified as William John Ward.

"I don’t want my grandchildren, nieces and nephews to suffer. Right now, millions of people are being forced outside of the conditions necessary to support human life," Ward said, as per Gray.

The ‘Just Stop Oil’ activist group, which aims for the British government to halt new fossil fuel licensing and production, had fired a warning about their intentions prior to the commencement of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

In response, the tournament officials took measures such as increased security and laid out a proper contingency plan in anticipation of such act of vandalism.

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"Individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass" - Wimbledon releases statement regarding the 'Just Stop Oil' protests

Ball kids and players gather to clear the court after the protest at Wimbledon 2023

Wimbledon’s official social media account release statements following the two instances of trespassing.

It was announced that the three concerned individuals were arrested on suspicion of trespassing and criminal damage and the protestors were removed from the tournament grounds.

“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 tournaments’s statement read.

“Following a further incident on Court 18, one individual has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage. This individual is being removed from the Grounds. Play on the court was briefly paused and has now resumed,” it added.

The protestors staged a similar stint during the ongoing Ashes cricket test series between England and Australia.