Climate change protester sets arm on fire during Laver Cup match

The protester, who wore a t-shirt which read ‘End UK Private Jets’, was removed from court and arrested

The man set his arm on fire while protesting against private jets (AP)

The Laver Cup match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Diego Schwartzman was briefly interrupted by a climate change protester who set his arm on fire while on court.

The protest at the O2 Arena in London came as Roger Federer prepared to play the final match of his career and with the 41-year-old sat courtside.

The protester made it past security to get onto the court before staging the protest, setting his right arm on fire.

The incident was not shown by broadcasters, but pictures from courtside showed the man was screaming in agony.

He was then removed from the court by security and arrested, a Laver Cup statement said. A Met Police statement said the man was taken to hospital.

“A man accessed the court this afternoon and was promptly removed by security,” a Laver Cup official said.

“Play was stopped briefly, he has been arrested and the situation is being handled by the police.”

The man wore a t-shirt which read: “End UK Private Jets”.

The match resumed after the man was detained and there was a further delay as liquid was cleared from the court.

“It came out of nowhere, I’ve never had an incident like this on court,” Tsitsipas said afterwards. “I hope he’s alright.”

Earlier this year, a semi-final match at the French Open was interrupted by a climate change protester who chained herself to the net.

As an international sport, the top tennis players in the world rely on air travel in between tournaments.