MADRID — The excitement at the Madrid Open tennis tournament took an unexpected turn on Monday as a significant power outage swept across Spain and Portugal, halting play.
According to the ATP Tour, action was in full swing with two singles matches and one doubles match when the lights went out at 12:34 p.m. local time (1034 GMT).
“The blackout has disrupted the electronic line calling systems and left a spider cam precariously dangling over the court at Manolo Santana Stadium,” the ATP announced.
Grigor Dimitrov was ahead 6-4, 5-4 against Jacob Fearnley when the match was interrupted. Meanwhile, Matteo Arnaldi was leading Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 3-2. Following a temporary pause for manual line calling, Arnaldi emerged victorious with a score of 6-3, 6-4.
Despite the outage, some players took the opportunity to practice, and a handful of spectators remained in the stands, enjoying the unusual atmosphere.
The power failure caused widespread disruptions, affecting subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights, and ATM services across the region.
Red Eléctrica, the Spanish power distributor, indicated that full restoration of power throughout the affected areas could take as long as 10 hours.
The company did not provide details on what caused the blackout, leaving many speculating.
Fortunately, two thrilling fourth-round women’s matches concluded just before the lights went out.
Coco Gauff triumphed over Belinda Bencic with a score of 6-4, 6-2, while Mirra Andreeva defeated Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-1, 6-4.
Gauff shared an Instagram story illustrating the eerie scene of an emergency light illuminating an otherwise dark locker room.
“No power where the showers are. So I’ll try taking a shower and let you all know how that goes,” the American humorously posted.
Meanwhile, second-ranked Iga Swiatek was found “sitting in the dimly-lit players’ lounge, chatting with her team,” as she awaited her match against Diana Shnaider, confirmed the WTA Tour.
Swiatek and Shnaider were slated to compete in the main stadium following the Dimitrov-Fearnley clash.
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka was set to face Peyton Stearns later in the day.
