Power failure ensures drama at the Madrid Open: players are stuck!

Madrid Open is bothered by the power output: tennis player Romboli gets stuck in the elevator, Gauff's interview interrupted, games canceled.
Madrid Open is bothered by the power output: tennis player Romboli gets stuck in the elevator, Gauff's interview interrupted, games canceled. (Symbolbild/ANAG)

Power failure ensures drama at the Madrid Open: players are stuck!

a massive power failure on April 29, 2025, the Madrid opened in Spain and fell into one and prominent tennis player in one precarious location. The interruptions of the game not only hit the athletes, but also caused confusion among the audience and organizers, while the cause of the failure remains unknown to this day.

The Brazilian double player Fernando Romboli, who was planned for the tournament due to his ranking, climbed into an elevator seconds before the failure and got stuck there for 30 minutes. Humorously, he then commented on his predicament on Instagram by reacting to the Situation with a thumb. A maintenance team finally freed him out of the elevator in which he was caught in complete darkness.

effects on the players and the game operation

Other players also experienced challenges on the tennis courts. Belinda Bencic, who had previously played against Coco Gauff, was affected when her microphone failed during an interview. Gauff, who is currently in fourth place in the world rankings, was forced to walk back to her hotel due to overcrowded roads. However, the technical problems were not limited to interviews: the electronic line calling and the Spider Cam, both essential for tournament, were also out of operation, which further tightened the situation.

The tournament management finally decided to interrupt the entire game for both daily and evening session. Together with an ongoing game that was interrupted - including the game between Grigor Dimitrow and Jacob Fearnley, which was stopped at 6: 4, 5: 4 for Dimitrow - all outstanding games were canceled. Safety concerns were also a role in the decision.

The search for water

The situation was also precarious for the players outside the field. Bencic showed an image of empty shelves on her Instagram profile in a supermarket and reported that she had great difficulty finding water, which is particularly worrying in the middle of a tennis event. The stalls and food stalls on the site of the Caja Magica were also without electricity during the failure.

Overall, this incident not only represents an unexpected interruption for the Madrid Open, but also raises questions about the reliability of the infrastructure during great sporting events. The massive power failure, which also affects parts of Portugal, shows how vulnerable even top -class events can be when unforeseen technical problems occur.

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