Jodie Burrage admitted nerves got the better of her on her Centre Court debut as she tumbled out of Wimbledon in front of David Beckham.

Former England captain Beckham watched from the Royal Box as Britain’s Burrage was routed 6-0 6-2 by Russian 11th seed Daria Kasatkina.

“It was a good experience. Obviously not the result that I wanted. The first set was pretty brutal,” said Burrage, 24.

“But all in all, you dream to be out on Centre Court. When I found out yesterday, it’s so exciting.

“In the same breath, you’ve got to deal with those nerves as well. I wish I could have settled a little bit earlier today. But you’ve got to go through these experiences to feel more comfortable in the next ones.

“So, yeah, it was a tough day, but also one of my dreams come true.”

Burrage arrived on court with high hopes after reaching the Nottingham final last month and then knocking out Caty McNally on Monday for her first win at a grand slam and a likely place in the top 100.

But she found herself staring down the barrel of a humiliating ‘double-bagel’ in the second round after dropping the first set without winning a game in 19 chastening minutes.

Kasatkina held again at the start of the second before Burrage finally got on the board, raising her arms in mock celebration in front of the Royal Box.

Bear Grylls, also watching from the posh seats, would have enjoyed the survival skills on display as Burrage went on to clinch a break of serve to lead 2-1.

But she was unable to hold serve before a rain delay and, despite some admirable resistance upon the resumption, Kasatkina clinically closed out the match in exactly one hour.

“I mean, having the people who were in that box out there watching you. I actually didn’t see who was in there,” added Burrage.

“When you’re on the court, it’s hard to see who is in there. You don’t want to really look and stare.

“Then during the rain delay, they obviously had the cameras around, and in the room we’re in I obviously saw David Beckham was announced. ‘Oh my God, David Beckham is watching me play tennis right now’. And I was at 6-0, 2-2.”

Jai Hindley won stage five of the Tour de France in Laruns to take the yellow jersey from Adam Yates and Jonas Vingegaard rode clear of rival Tadej Pogacar as an early trip to the Pyrenees ripped up the general classification.

Hindley, winner of last year’s Giro d’Italia, marked himself out as a major contender with a breakaway victory but surely more important was the sight of defending champion Vingegaard leaving behind two-time winner Pogacar on the final climb to make his case as the favourite to be in yellow come Paris.

Having gone clear from the last of his fellow escapees on the final climb of the Col de Marie Blanque, Hindley soloed into Laruns to take the win by 32 seconds, with Vingegaard coming home at the back of a four-strong group that was second on the road.

With bonus seconds applied, Hindley now leads overall by 47 seconds from Vingegaard with Giulio Ciccone in third, 63 seconds back.

The Australian may be making his Tour de France debut, but given Hindley has twice stood on the podium of the Giro it was a huge surprise to see how easily he got into the break.

“I’m a bit lost for words to be honest,” the Bora-Hansgrohe rider said. “I can’t believe it. I was pretty surprised to find myself in that group. I just sort of slipped into it. I was sort of having fun, then looked back and there was no group behind so I thought, ‘I guess we’re in for a bike race’.

“The gap grew out initially and I was just trying to maybe get a bit of a buffer on the GC guys and then I started to think about the stage win.”

Pogacar, utterly unable to respond when Vingegaard launched his own move on the Marie Blanque, lost more than a minute to Vingegaard and slipped to sixth, one minute and 40 seconds off yellow. Adam Yates is now fifth and his twin brother Simon seventh.

The first real mountain battle of the Tour turned into a fascinating tactical battle as Hindley slipped into a strong breakaway that got clear during a frantic start to the 163km stage out of Pau.

Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates were unable to shut it down and got no help from any of their rivals, watching the advantage balloon to four minutes as they climbed the hors categorie Col de Soudet midway through the stage.

Hindley would have been hoping to gain a bigger lead given the time gaps that had been seen, but when Vingegaard made a late dig of his own he quickly distanced Pogacar and kept himself within reach of the yellow jersey.

Matt O’Riley revealed Brendan Rodgers has told his Celtic squad to consign last season’s domestic treble to history to focus on more success.

The Hoops completed the clean sweep of trophies in Scotland for the eighth time before popular boss Ange Postecoglou stunned the fans when he departed for Tottenham.

Rodgers has returned to Parkhead for a second spell as boss, having won seven trophies out of seven in his first stint in charge between 2016 and 2019 before leaving for Leicester, but, according to Hoops midfielder O’Riley, he is clearing the way for a fresh start to next season.

Following a tough training session at Lennoxtown, the 22-year-old said on Celtic’s official Twitter account: “It is an amazing achievement,  we’ve kind of broke that record again, which is a massive, massive credit to us and the fans of course.

“It has definitely sunk in, but at the same time Brendan has come in already and basically told us that it’s done now, isn’t it?

“So obviously, it’s there, it’s in the history books, but at the same time now we’ve got another season to kind of do it again.”

The former Fulham and MK Dons player is appreciating a more hands-on managerial approach from the Northern Irishman.

He said: “So far it’s been amazing. Everyone seems quite upbeat and I think he brings that just in terms of how he goes about things.

“He’s not reluctant to come and sit with us at lunch and just have a chat which I think is quite nice.

“So it’s nice, refreshing kind of change in a sense just to have a bit more openness about the place so I’m looking forward to that.”

O’Riley is relishing the upcoming trip to Japan, where preparations for the new season will continue and which will also provide a homecoming for Celtic’s Japanese contingent of Kyogo Furuhashi, Yuki Kobayashi, Tomoki Iwata, Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate.

O’Riley said: “It’s supposed to be quite humid and sticky, so it’s going to be quite tough to train in it, but I think that’s probably the perfect preparation for us going into the season.

“I think we get a day off as well, which we’re spending in Osaka, which I’ve heard is a really nice place.

“So I’m looking forward to that. And, yeah, I’ll be sure to ask Japanese boys for some advice what to do today.”

Former Spain and Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has been named as the new manager of Paris St Germain following the sacking of Christophe Galtier.

The French club parted company with Galtier on Wednesday despite his success in leading them to a record 11th Ligue 1 title in his first season in charge.

Enrique, who had been out of work since stepping down from his role with Spain after last year’s World Cup, has signed a two-year deal.

A statement read: “Paris St Germain is pleased to announce the appointment of Luis Enrique as head coach of the professional team. The Spanish coach has signed a two-year contract.”

Galtier’s position had been the subject of speculation since PSG exited the Champions League at the last-16 stage.

His team went on to pip Lens to the domestic title by a single point but the 56-year-old’s eventual departure came as little surprise.

His exit and replacement by Enrique is not the only change at the club this summer with seven-time world player of the year Lionel Messi having also departed. The future of another star player, Neymar, is also uncertain.

Enrique, 53, will spearhead a renewed attempt to succeed on the European stage.

The Spaniard said: “I am delighted to arrive in Paris to live a new experience there. It’s so exciting to meet new people, to live in this city, to learn a new language and above all to coach PSG.”

Enrique, who had a distinguished playing career with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Spain, has also had spells coaching Roma and Celta Vigo.

He led Barca to the Champions League in 2015 and also won LaLiga twice with the Catalan giants before spending four years with the Spanish national side.

He is the fourth new coach at PSG in just over five years after Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pocehttino and Galtier.

PSG said in a statement: “At the end of the 2022-2023 season, Paris Saint-Germain informed Christophe Galtier of its decision to terminate his contract as first-team coach.”

Arthur Fery showed his potential on his Wimbledon debut despite a straight-sets loss to third seed Daniil Medvedev.

The 20-year-old, ranked 391, matched his illustrious opponent in the first set before a rain delay disrupted things and eventually fell to a 7-5 6-4 6-3 loss.

Fery has followed Cameron Norrie’s route to professional tennis by taking a scholarship to a US college – Stanford in his case – and is likely to decide later this year whether to complete his degree or pursue his sporting dreams immediately.

His natural touch and willingness to come to the net make him well suited to grass and he looked at home on Court One straight away after a rain shower delayed the start.

Fery, who has French parents but grew up in Wimbledon, won his opening two service games to love and forced a break point on the serve of Medvedev – playing his first match at the All England Club since 2021 after last year’s ban.

It was the Russian who made the first move with a break for 3-2 but Fery delighted the crowd by hitting straight back, prompting his excited father Loic – owner of French top division football club Lorient – to leap from his seat punching the air.

Fery held his own until 5-5 when rain again began to fall, calling into serious question the organisers’ decision not to close the roof.

Still it stayed open, and the delay did not help Fery as he dropped his serve on the resumption before Medvedev, who was returning from metres behind the baseline, clinched the opening set.

Listed at a generous 5ft 8in on the ATP website, Fery was giving away nearly a foot to his opponent and Medvedev began to make his longer levers count, drawing more errors from his young opponent.

The third seed was by a long way the highest-ranked player Fery, making his tour level debut, had ever faced, and he was bidding to defeat a top-100 player for the first time.

Medvedev saved a break point in a long service game at 1-2 in the second set before breaking Fery again, but back came the young Londoner.

The disappointment for Fery was that, having given himself a chance in the set by pulling back to 4-4, he was then broken again.

The 20-year-old recalled watching Medvedev’s US Open triumph in 2021 on his phone on the Tube while travelling back from a music festival, but he continued to do a good job of narrowing the gulf between them in the third set.

Medvedev was playing his part in that, too, with more errors than he would have liked but he succeeded in finding a way past Fery, who left the court to loud cheers.

Medvedev admitted he was unsure how he would be received, saying: “I was pretty nervous. I didn’t play here for two years.

“I didn’t know which reception I would get and it was unbelievable. I’m not loved everywhere for who I am, sometimes I get crazy on the court.

“It was an amazing feeling to be back here. I’m going to be loving my time here. Hopefully I can prolong it as long as possible.”

Paddy Twomey’s high-class filly Rosscarbery will not make a swift return to action in the bet365 Lancashire Oaks at Haydock on Saturday.

Having made a successful start to her campaign in the Munster Oaks at Cork, the four-year-old stepped up to Group One level for last weekend’s Pretty Polly Stakes.

The daughter of Sea The Stars was beaten five lengths into fourth place and Twomey believes she would have picked up valuable black type but for being hampered by eventual winner Via Sistina.

The Irish trainer has, though, decided against bidding for swift compensation on Merseyside, instead electing to keep his powder dry for major targets later in the summer.

“I made the entry (at Haydock) just to keep my options open. She’s entered in pretty much everything across the board,” said Twomey.

“She’s come out of the Curragh in good form. It was a pity what happened in the race as I think she’d have been in the first three with a clear passage.

“A mile and a quarter is her minimum trip – she stays a mile and a half and a mile and six. She needs everything to go right at 10 furlongs, so to get stopped in her tracks like that wasn’t ideal, but it is what it is and we move on to the next day.”

Considering future plans, he added: “We’ll see what we do, but a race like the Yorkshire Oaks would be very suitable for her – a mile and a half with a long straight.

“I think a mile and a half sees her to best effect, as she showed in Cork in the Munster Oaks.

“We’ll talk with the owners and make a plan, but the aim is to try to win a Group One if we can.”

Twomey also entered Final Gesture for the Lancashire Oaks, but confirmed she will instead be readied for next week’s Stanerra Stakes at Leopardstown.

Sheffield Wednesday chairman Dejphon Chansiri hit back at his critics when introducing new manager Xisco Munoz to the media.

Former Watford boss Munoz, 42, was appointed on Tuesday as a replacement for Darren Moore, who surprisingly left the club by mutual consent last month – just three weeks after leading them to promotion back to the Championship.

Chansiri has come under pressure from a section of fans over Moore’s departure, with former Owls player Carlton Palmer among his critics on social media.

The Wednesday chairman felt compelled to reveal in a club statement last week that Moore had left Hillsborough after asking for a contract four times bigger than his previous one.

Chansiri’s outburst cast a shadow over Munoz’s unveiling on Wednesday when he said: “Carlton Palmer came out and said something. I don’t understand why you say you love this club, but you try to damage it.

“When we’ve done well in the past I’ve never seen him come out. I think he just wants to get attention.

“If he thinks he tells the true story, I invite him to talk to me face-to-face in front of fans and media. Don’t hide behind social media.”

Spaniard Munoz, whose 10-month spell in charge at Watford ended in the sack after he had guided them to promotion to the Premier League in 2021, stressed it was time to look to the future.

The former Valencia winger, who lasted seven games as Watford boss in the top flight, said: “We need a new era. I don’t want to speak about three weeks ago. We are a massive club with massive fanbase.

“Everyone knows what happened before. Now it’s about what we want, what we need. This is our focus.”

Neither Wednesday nor Munoz declared the length of his contract and he confirmed he was happy to work with the club’s current backroom staff while keeping an open mind about bringing in new coaches.

Munoz, tasked with ending the club’s 23-year Premier League exile and establishing them in the top flight, also stressed the club could only be successful if it remained united.

The former Dinamo Tbilisi and Huesca head coach added: “We need the players, the training ground and the fans.

“Our first goal is we arrive and try to improve on the training ground. Now is the moment for everybody to start pushing.

“If we love the club I don’t need fighting. We need the fans to push us and stay together.

“It’s important when you arrive at one place you need to know what the fans are demanding. Today I spoke to the players about that and starting work hard. We have a good group.”

Two protesters have been arrested after disrupting Wimbledon by throwing orange-coloured confetti and jigsaw pieces on Court 18.

Tournament organisers announced on Twitter the pair were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage after running on to the court during a match between Grigor Dimitrov and Sho Shimabukuro.

The Metropolitan Police said on Twitter that a man and a woman were in custody after the incident.

Just Stop Oil has named the activists as Deborah Wilde and Simon Milner-Edwards.

Wimbledon tweeted: “Following an incident on Court 18, two individuals have been arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass and criminal damage and these individuals have now been removed from the Grounds.

“Play on the court was temporarily paused and, following a suspension in play due to a rain delay, play is about to resume.”

The crowd jeered them before they were escorted away by security guards and police.

Grounds staff came on to pick the confetti and jigsaw pieces up while one member used a leafblower shortly before the rain started.

The protest happened as Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer held talks with police and sports chiefs to discuss how to prevent Just Stop Oil activists targeting flagship events.

The second Ashes Test at Lord’s, the Gallagher Premiership rugby final at Twickenham and the World Snooker Championship have all been affected in recent months.

In a statement, Just Stop Oil said “we can’t leave it to the next generation to pick up the pieces”.

Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London, ran on the court shortly after 2.10pm.

She said: “I’m just an ordinary grandmother in resistance to this Government’s policy of serving us new oil and gas licences. In normal circumstances this sort of disruption would be entirely unacceptable, but these aren’t normal circumstances.

“We’ve just had the hottest June on record, breaking the previous record by nearly a whole degree! We don’t need Hawk-eye to see that our Government issuing over 100 new fossil fuel licences is a very bad line-call.

“Forget strawberries and cream, scientists are warning of impending food shortages, mass displacement and war.

“We are facing new pandemics, economic inflation and increasingly authoritarian governments who will attempt to crush civil unrest.

“This is a crisis and it needs a crisis response. I want a safe future, not just for my grandchildren but for all children around the world and the generations to come.”

The other Just Stop Oil protester who invaded Court 18 was Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, a retired musician, from Manchester.

He revealed he brought the confetti into the grounds in a jigsaw box, but refused to say which gate he entered through.

Via the JSO statement, he said: “I’m here for my grandchildren and everybody else’s. I’m not prepared to let our politicians wreck everything and leave the next generation to pick up the pieces.

“The last thing I want to do is spoil people’s enjoyment of Wimbledon, but right now, on Centre Court, it’s humanity versus oil and gas – and the umpire is getting every call wrong.

“How long are we going to take this before we see a McEnroe-level meltdown?”

The protest did not disrupt proceedings too much as rain started falling shortly after.

The match resumed 45 minutes later.

Ian Poulter believes changes need to be made at the top of golf’s established tours for the proposed peace deal between the game’s rival factions to work.

World number two Jon Rahm admitted players felt a “bit of betrayal” following the shock announcement that the PGA Tour and DP World Tour plan to merge their commercial operations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls the breakaway LIV Golf League.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan conceded he would be labelled a hypocrite for negotiating the framework agreement and was accused of becoming a “Saudi shill” by a group representing families of those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Monahan faced calls to resign at a heated players meeting immediately after the deal was announced and is currently recuperating from a “medical situation” which means he will not testify before a Senate committee looking into the deal next week.

DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley is also facing questions after it was revealed in court documents filed in Florida that the PGA Tour regarded the European Tour Group as a “borderline distressed asset” during analysis intended to aid a merger between the parties last year.

The tours have pledged to establish a “fair and objective process” for LIV players to re-apply for membership, although resentment over fines and suspensions for playing LIV events without permission remain a bone of contention.

Speaking ahead of this week’s LIV event in Hemel Hempstead, Poulter was therefore asked if it would be easier to start afresh if changes were made.

“It would definitely help,” the former Ryder Cup star said.

“I’m not going to say what those changes have to be, but shall we say there needs to be changes? People need to be accountable for their actions.”

Majesticks team-mate Lee Westwood believes the emergence of LIV has led to more “transparency” in the game and that opinions may be changing as new information comes to light.

“I just think people are better informed now, there’s more transparency in what goes on in all of the golfing organisations,” Westwood said.

“It’s not so much vindication, it’s just that people know the true facts now.

“I didn’t really want to get involved. I’m just a golfer at the end of the day, the politics of it all and the way tours are run is kind of above my pay grade, but it is nice to see it down in black and white what’s been going on.”

Asked if he felt tempted to say ‘I told to you so’ to those who spoke out against LIV when it launched, Westwood added: “No, not really.

“I think we’re happy within the position and the choices we’ve made and then it’s up to everybody else to form an opinion on it. Now it’s an informed opinion.

“There’s a lot of people now looking like hypocrites. You’ve seen what people are saying in the press and now they’re backtracking. He (Monahan) has even admitted himself he’s going to look hypocritical.

“We don’t even have to say it any more. We knew it at the time about sponsors on the PGA Tour.

“He sat in front of the RBC sign when they [RBC] did the deal for Aramco to go public and make all that money from Saudi Arabia and the next minute he’s mentioning 9/11 families and stuff like that. It’s really uncomfortable to watch now.”

Cicero’s Gift could be in line for an outing at the Qatar Goodwood Festival as he bids to bounce back from a first defeat at Royal Ascot.

Charlie Hills’ talented colt created a taking impression when winning his first three starts in great style, earning himself a crack at the Group One St James’s Palace Stakes on the opening day of the Royal meeting.

However, his first foray into deep waters proved unsuccessful and he was unable to showcase his true ability when seeing his challenge constantly hindered from a low draw.

His handler remains confident he has a horse with a progressive profile on his hands and is considering his next move for the 109-rated colt, with Goodwood’s Group Three Thoroughbred Stakes an option as well a further drop in grade to Listed level.

“He’s a really nice horse,” said Hills.

“He was a bit slow away and I think experience counted in the race. They went very fast for the first four furlongs and I think it just caught him out a little bit and then from that low draw, he just couldn’t get a run off that rail.

“We never got to see the full potential of him that day and we will see where we go with him now. I’m keen to give him a little break and then come back for something like the Thoroughbred Stakes at Goodwood which could be a good spot for him.

“He’s rated 109 and already up to a good rating, but I would love to find him a Listed race or something just to perhaps get him winning again and then work him back up.

“I see no reason why he wouldn’t get a mile and a quarter in time and he’s going to make a lovely four-year-old.”

Also poised for an appearance on the Sussex Downs is stable stalwart Pogo, who could attempt to better than last year’s third in the Lennox Stakes following his brave effort at Newmarket in the Criterion Stakes.

The forward-going seven-year-old was beaten only half a length in the Goodwood Group Two 12 months ago and Hills sees the £180,000 event as the ideal next port of call.

“He ran really well and I was delighted with him,” said Hills.

“I think he deserves a bit of a break now after two quick runs and he’s in the Lennox Stakes which gives us about a month and is good timing.

“He wasn’t beaten too far in the race last year, he ran a huge race there, so that will probably where he goes next and there’s great prize money.”

Britain’s Jodie Burrage endured a nightmare Centre Court debut as she tumbled out of Wimbledon at the hands of Daria Kasatkina.

The 24-year-old arrived with high hopes after reaching the Nottingham final last month and then knocking out Caty McNally on Monday for her first win at a grand slam and a likely place in the top 100.

But she found herself staring down the barrel of a humiliating ‘double-bagel’ in the second round after dropping the first set without winning a game.

Burrage recovered her composure in the second set but Russian Kasatkina, the Eastbourne finalist and 11th seed, proved too strong in a resounding 6-0 6-2 victory.

The British number two was bound to be nervous on her first appearance on Centre Court, and unfortunately it showed.

She won just three points in the opening four games, double-faulting three times to give Kasatkina a 4-0 lead.

Burrage brought up a break point in the next but a slip on the baseline proved costly and before she knew it the first set was over in 19 chastening minutes.

Kasatkina held again at the start of the second before Burrage finally got on the board, raising her arms in mock celebration in front of David Beckham in the Royal Box.

Bear Grylls, also watching from the posh seats, would have enjoyed the survival skills on display as Burrage went on to clinch a break of serve to lead 2-1.

But she was unable to hold serve before a rain delay and, despite some admirable resistance upon the resumption, Kasatkina clinically closed out the match in exactly one hour.

Formula One bosses have announced the longest calendar in the sport’s history with a record-breaking 24 races scheduled for next season.

The campaign will open on a Saturday in Bahrain on March 2 and end more than 10 months later in Abu Dhabi on December 8.

The British Grand Prix will take place at Silverstone on July 7, avoiding a clash with the men’s Wimbledon final, and the concluding day of golf’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.

The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai is also pencilled in for its first F1 race since 2019.

F1 races traditionally take place on a Sunday, but next year’s schedule kicks off with back-to-back Saturday night races, first in Bahrain and then in Saudi Arabia, to accommodate Ramadan.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “There is huge interest and continued demand for Formula One, and I believe this calendar strikes the right balance between traditional races and new and existing venues.

“Our journey to a more sustainable calendar will continue in the coming years as we further streamline operations as part of our Net Zero 2030 commitment.

“We have plenty of racing to look forward to in 2023, including the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix, and our fans can look forward to more excitement next season.”

March 2 – Bahrain Grand Prix (Sakhir)
March 9 – Saudi Arabian Grand Prix (Jeddah)
March 24 – Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)
April 7 – Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
April 21 – Chinese Grand Prix (Shanghai)
May 5 – Miami Grand Prix (Miami)
May 19 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix (Imola)
May 26 – Monaco Grand Prix (Monte Carlo)
June 9 – Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)
June 23 – Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)
June 30 – Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)
July 7 – British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
July 21 – Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring)
July 28 – Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps)
August 25 – Dutch Grand Prix (Zandvoort)
September 1 – Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
September 15 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix (Baku)
September 22 – Singapore Grand Prix (Marina Bay)
October 20 – United States Grand Prix (Austin)
October 27 – Mexico City Grand Prix (Mexico City)
November 3 – Brazilian Grand Prix (Interlagos)
November 23 – Las Vegas Grand Prix (Las Vegas)
December 1 – Qatar Grand Prix (Lusail)
December 8 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina)

Wimbledon became the latest major sporting event targeted by protesters after two people wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts ran on to Court 18 on the third day of the Championships.

The first-round match between Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov was suspended after two protesters got onto the grass court and threw orange confetti glitter on to the surface.

“Just Stop Oil supporters have disrupted the Wimbledon Tennis Championships,” a statement from the climate activists read.

“At around 14:10 two Just Stop Oil supporters ran on to Court 18, disrupting the match between Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov.

“The supporters threw environmentally-friendly orange confetti glitter and jigsaw pieces on to the courts, before being removed. Play was briefly delayed whilst marshals picked up the pieces.”

Deborah Wilde, 68, a retired teacher from London, who was one of the protesters who ran on the court, said: “I’m just an ordinary grandmother in resistance to this government’s policy of serving us new oil and gas licences. In normal circumstances this sort of disruption would be entirely unacceptable, but these aren’t normal circumstances.

“We’ve just had the hottest June on record, breaking the previous record by nearly a whole degree. We don’t need Hawk-eye to see that our government issuing over 100 new fossil fuel licences is a very bad line-call.

“Forget strawberries and cream, scientists are warning of impending food shortages, mass displacement and war. We are facing new pandemics, economic inflation and increasingly authoritarian governments who will attempt to crush civil unrest.

“This is a crisis and it needs a crisis response. I want a safe future, not just for my grandchildren but for all children around the world and the generations to come.”

The other Just Stop Oil protester who invaded Court 18 at Wimbledon was Simon Milner-Edwards, 66, a retired musician, from Manchester.

He said: “I’m here for my grandchildren and everybody else’s. I’m not prepared to let our politicians wreck everything and leave the next generation to pick up the pieces.

“The last thing I want to do is spoil people’s enjoyment of Wimbledon, but right now, on Centre Court, it’s humanity versus oil and gas – and the umpire is getting every call wrong.

“How long are we going to take this before we see a McEnroe-level meltdown?”