A climate protest group claimed its activists were “bloodied and bruised up” after briefly interrupting Andy Murray’s last-16 clash with Taylor Fritz at the Citi Open in Washington DC.

Action was delayed in the first set of the Friday night match when three jumbo tennis balls were tossed onto the court in the event’s main stadium. Fritz later said he found the whole thing “annoying”.

Climate Defence, which describes itself as a brand-new, youth-led group using direct action to resist fossil fuels, immediately claimed responsibility for the disruption. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the campaign group claimed its members were injured as they attempted to disrupt the event.