The U.S. Open semifinal between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova was delayed early within the second set due to a disruption by environmental activists within the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands on Thursday evening.
Gauff was forward 6-4, 1-0 when play was halted for a minimum of 40 minutes.
Tournament referee Jake Garner got here out onto the court docket, whereas safety headed towards the place the protesters had been. They had been carrying shirts that learn, “End Fossil Fuels.”
At least one particular person glued their ft to the bottom, making it more durable to be eliminated, a spokesman for the U.S. Tennis Association stated.
At least two protesters had been taken away. Later, greater than a half-dozen law enforcement officials arrived — greeted by cheers from followers close to the part the place the disruption occurred. Spectators had been requested to maneuver away to clear a path for the police.
Gauff sat on her sideline bench for a bit, consuming fruit out of a plastic container, earlier than then getting some tennis balls and hitting a couple of apply serves. Muchova was briefly visited by a coach in the course of the interruption.
Eventually, each gamers headed towards the locker room because the delay continued. Gauff sat on a treadmill, a towel draped over her lap, whereas chatting with members of her workforce.
It is the most recent in a current collection of protests at sporting occasions — and tennis, particularly — associated to the usage of fossil fuels.
At Wimbledon in July, two matches had been interrupted when environmental activists jumped out of the stands at Court 18 and scattered orange confetti on the grass.
At a U.S. Open tune-up match in Washington final month, a couple of dozen individuals had been requested to go away the positioning after chanting and displaying indicators protesting the usage of fossil fuels.
Gauff, a 19-year-old American, and Muchova, a 27-year-old from the Czech Republic, had been each taking part in within the semifinals at Flushing Meadows for the primary time.
Their match was the primary of the night. The different girls’s semifinal, between Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Madison Keys of the United States, was scheduled to start after Gauff vs. Muchova completed.
The two winners Thursday will play one another for the ladies’s singles championship in Ashe on Saturday.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
