Climate Protester Sets Arm on Fire on Laver Cup Court Ahead of Roger Federer's Final Match
Warning: this article contains sensitive images
A Laver Cup tennis match was interrupted by a protestor who lit his right arm on fire in apparent protest of private jet use in the United Kingdom.
On Friday, the protestor — who wore a T-shirt that read "end UK private jets" — sat on the court during a break in a match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Diego Schwartzman and appeared to spread a flammable liquid on his arm before lighting it on fire, according to video of the incident shared on Twitter by journalist Sam Street.
The man quickly doused the flames on his own arm before security carried him off the court and put out the small fire started on the court next to the protestor, video shows. A reporter with The Times posted on Twitter that the man was spotted lying on the ground near a media restroom after the incident.
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The man was arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass by Metropolitan Police, according to Sky Sports.
"It came out of nowhere. I have no idea what this is all about. I never had an incident like this happen on court. I hope he is all right," 24-year-old Tsitsipas said after the match, according to The Washington Post. "I wanted to proceed the match without having any minor changes to the court and to make sure it was playable, especially that area. It also got in my way of viewing experience, the way I saw the court later. There was a big mark over there and I just wanted to get it cleared up."
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The abrupt protest came just hours before tennis legend Roger Federer was scheduled to take the court alongside Rafael Nadal for the final competitive doubles match of 41-year-old Federer's career.
The Swiss tennis legend, who announced last Thursday that he would retire after the Laver Cup, was sitting courtside when the protestor lit his arm on fire ahead of his match Friday, according to The Independent.
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In July, climate activists ground the 2022 Tour de France's 10th stage to a halt when protestors blocked part of the course.
According to CNN, Stage 10 of the race was halted when activists from the French climate group Derniere Renovation sat on a road to block riders from passing. In pictures, one of the protestors could be seen wearing a shirt that read, "We have 989 days left," in apparent reference to an April United Nations report warning of the dangers of uninterrupted climate change, according to The Post.
