Spectators at the DC Open tennis tournament walk outside the main stadium in Washington on Monday, July 31, 2023, the first day of the main-draw competition. The tournament is the first joint ATP-WTA 500 event but the women’s champion will earn about a third of what the men’s champion will be paid. (AP Photo/Howard Fendrich)
Spectators at the DC Open tennis tournament walk outside the main stadium in Washington on Monday, July 31, 2023, the first day of the main-draw competition. The tournament is the first joint ATP-WTA 500 event but the women’s champion will earn about a third of what the men’s champion will be paid. (AP Photo/Howard Fendrich)
Taylor Fritz, right, embraces Andy Murray after their match during the DC Open tennis tournament Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, in Washington. (Minh Connors/The Washington Post via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Taylor Fritz found the whole thing “annoying” when climate protesters briefly interrupted his match against Andy Murray at the DC Open tennis tournament on Friday.
Action was delayed in the first set of Fritz's 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 victory when some jumbo tennis balls were tossed onto the court in the event's main stadium.
In the stands, some people chanted and displayed signs protesting the use of fossil fuels. About a dozen people were asked to leave the tournament and did so without incident, a spokesperson for the tournament said.
“I get they’re protesting, but there’s just got to be a better way to do it,” said Fritz, a 25-year-old from California who is No. 9 in the ATP rankings and the top-seeded man at the DC Open.
“I don’t understand how people are going to get behind a cause when you’re ruining everyone else’s good time. Like, it doesn’t really make sense to me. ... It’s annoying, obviously, when they do it. It’s ruining everyone’s time. Everyone wants to watch the tennis. So I jokingly said, ‘Honestly, this makes me want to go fly on jets more,’" Fritz said with a smile. "I think, you know, they’re supporting a good cause, but the way they’re doing it, who’s going to want to listen when they’re just annoying everybody?”
At Wimbledon last month, three environmental activists were arrested after jumping out of the stands to disrupt matches by scattering orange confetti and puzzle pieces on the court.
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AP tennis:
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