On Friday, the world of tennis again became a forum for protests against climate change. This time a protester walked onto the court at the O2 Arena in London and briefly set his own arm on fire during a match between Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece and Argentinian Diego Schwartzman at the opening of the Laver Cup.
“A man accessed the court this afternoon and was promptly removed by security,” the Laver Cup said in a statement. “Play was stopped briefly, he has been arrested and the situation is being handled by the police.”
You may recall that this year’s French Open was suspended briefly when an unhinged climate change protester charged the court at Roland Garros in Paris. In that case, a member of French climate activist group Dernière Rénovation — “Last Renovation” — attached herself to the net with wire and glue, wearing a T-shirt that read, “We have only 1028 days left,” presumably to address climate change.
Friday’s incident seemed less thought-out than the French Open protest, but at least there were pyrotechnics.
Shortly after Tsitsipas took the first set, a protester wearing a T-shirt reading “End UK Private Jets” charged the court, sat in the service box, poured liquid on his arm and lit it on fire. The heat may have been too much for the unnamed climate hysteric, though, as he quickly shook his arm and put out the fire.
A few drops of the liquid were spilled on the court and produced a small fire on the playing surface. A security guard was able to quickly extinguish the fire with his jacket.
The climate protester seemed to be unhurt, although slightly singed, and was quickly escorted from the venue by security guards. He appears to be a part of a climate activist initiative called Sacrifice for Survival — a group that apparently believes that self-immolation is an acceptable form of protest.
The players were clearly taken by surprise.
“It came out of nowhere. I have no idea what it’s all about. I never had an incident like this happen on-court, so I hope he’s all right,” said Tsitsipas, who would go on to win the match.
Other than the brief disruption, play continued as normal.
“I wanted to proceed with that match without having any minor changes to the court, and I wanted to make sure it’s playable, especially that area,” Tsitsipas said. “It also got in my way in my viewing kind of experience of the court, the way I saw the court later. There was a big mark over there, and I wanted it to be cleaned up in order for me to proceed the way I did before.”
The Laver Cup is played annually, pitting a team of players from Europe against a team from the rest of the world. It is intended to be tennis’ version of golf’s Ryder Cup. The event was noteworthy this year as it marked the last competitive tournament of Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer, winner of 20 Grand Slam titles.
Federer would go on to play on the court later that evening in a doubles match.
Novak Djokovic, a Serbian tennis star, was allowed to play in the tournament for Europe despite not being allowed to play in this year’s U.S. Open because he is not vaccinated for Covid-19.
It’s been a busy few months for climate crazies. In addition to attacking tennis matches, they’ve also been on a spree of defacing priceless works of art, including the Mona Lisa, in order to garner attention for their already over-hyped cause.
