Brisbane activist Drew Pavlou disrupts Wimbledon 2022 men’s singles final with Peng Shuai protest

Play briefly halted in third set as Wimbledon security remove prominent anti-China protester Drew Pavlou from centre court.

Australian human rights campaigner Drew Pavlou (left) wears a “Where is Peng Shuai?” t-shirt at the Australian Open in January. Picture: AFP

Brisbane political activist Drew Pavlou says he was thrown headfirst down stairs and smashed into a concrete wall by security officials after holding up a sign which read “Where is Peng Shuai?” during the Wimbledon men's singles final.

Play was briefly halted in the third set when both Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic looked to the kerfuffle in the stands.

The 23-year-old human rights campaigner said he had been threatened with arrest for holding a sign inside Wimbledon on Friday, but that the most recent attempt to evict him from the men’s singles final on Sunday was violent. He said he want to highlight the plight of Peng Shuai and speak up for her because she was an innocent woman being persecuted.

An activist who shouted 'Where is Peng Shuai?' and held up a sign with the same message was removed from Centre Court during the Wimbledon men's final on Sunday. https://t.co/jSyJAlxiS9

— CTV News Calgary (@CTVCalgary) July 10, 2022

Mr Pavlou said tennis authorities were protecting their massive Chinese sponsorship contracts at the expense of finding out what had happened to Peng.

He was quickly set upon by security staff after holding up his sign in the stands.

He said afterwards on Twitter: “The Chinese Government tried to wipe Peng Shuai from the face of the Earth because she came out and accused a top CCP official of sexual assault. And the saddest thing is they have almost been successful in making everyone forget about her. I just don’t want people to forget.

Wimbledon are lying to the BBC. Photographs show security crash tackled me and tried to hurl me down the stairs. Simply for trying to silently hold a #WhereIsPengShuai sign. @Martinahttps://t.co/lH8HSm5O9epic.twitter.com/GyPHkSzStE

— Drew Pavlou (@DrewPavlou) July 10, 2022

“I’m sorry that I disrupted the match for 30 seconds, I tried to pick a break in between games to silently hold up my #WhereIsPengShuai sign but security immediately crash tackled me which is why I shouted out so people would hear Peng Shuai’s name on the broadcast.”

An All England Club spokesperson said “a spectator was removed from Centre Court after disrupting play by shouldering, running down the stairs and causing a nuisance to their fellow spectators. The individual was removed by security colleagues and escorted off the grounds”.

Mr Pavlou unsuccessfully stood for a senate seat in the recent federal election and has been highly critical of the Chinese Communist Party.