Two environmental activists jumped from the stands in Court 18 during Grigor Dimitrov's match at Wimbledon and disrupted it by scattering orange confetti and puzzle pieces on the grass. The three-time Grand Slam semifinalist tried to stop them, but left it to the police.

Instead, security guards removed the woman and the man who were wearing "Just Stop Oil" shirts, an organization that wants the British government to stop new oil, gas, and coal projects. Both were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage, according to the All England Club.

The next match on the same court, known as the site of John Isner's 2010 win over Nicolas Mahut in the longest match in tennis history, was also interrupted by another man from the same environmental group, and the club said two security guards detained him and he was also arrested.

Dimitrov, 32, from Bulgaria and ranked 21st in the men's category, who ended up winning against Japanese Sho Shimabukuro 6-1, 6-2, 6-1, said, "It’s obviously not nice; at the end of the day, there’s not much you can do. I think everyone somehow did their part as quickly as possible."

The second affected match was the British wildcard Katie Boulter’s 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory over Australian Daria Saville, and Boulter and Saville helped clean up the debris before the match resumed.

Dimitrov said, "You’re just there, somehow, and also security checks bags when people enter the waiting area, but you never know what someone might do."

The All England Club coordinated with the Metropolitan Police and other agencies to increase security for this year’s championship, partly due to protests at other major sporting venues in Britain this year.

Michelle Diet, Operations Director of the All England Club, said last week: "Based on what has happened at other sporting events, and based on advice from our key partners, we have reviewed our security plans, which are now enhanced accordingly for the championship."

Diet said, "We have mitigation plans by working in partnership with specialist agencies and the Metropolitan Police, and in the event of an incident, the appropriate specialist teams will respond."

Her comments came a day after people representing Just Stop Oil briefly interrupted play about five minutes after the start of the cricket match between England and Australia in London, where players from both teams intervened when protesters tried to spread orange powder on the field.

Earlier in June, protesters briefly stopped the England cricket team bus during the Test match against Ireland in London, and activists also targeted Premier League football matches, the Premiership Rugby final at Twickenham, and the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield this year.

American Danielle Collins, who won her first-round match at Court 17 on Wednesday, said, "I think in some ways it can be distracting if it’s happening during the match, but I also understand the importance of people being able to protest about things that matter to them, especially anything related to climate. It’s a real thing we’re dealing with, and I feel not enough people are aware of these issues and have sufficient education about them."