Tennis matches are anything but straightforward. You never know what might flip the script—a wrong move, a technical hiccup, or the weather. Right now at Cincinnati, the chaos is real! On August 12, play was hit hard by a power shortage after a generator caught fire on site. This caused major disruptions, including multiple interruptions in the match between Jannik Sinner and Gabriel Diallo. But that’s not all; there are plenty more unexpected things stopping matches that might surprise you!
1. Emma Raducanu’s match disrupted due to a baby
On Monday, Raducanu stepped onto court against defending champion and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka — and for a while, it felt like the Brit might just cook up something special. She lost the first set but dug deep to snatch the second, fearless and fired up. Then came the decider, and the tension shot up. Serving at 3-4, Raducanu battled through a marathon game that had everyone on edge.
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At deuce, just as break points loomed, a cry from a child in the stands made her pause. Frustrated, she told the umpire, “It’s been, like, 10 minutes.” The umpire shot back, “It’s a child. Do you want me to kick the child out of the stadium?” Emma Raducanu simply shrugged. When some in the crowd yelled “yes,” she pointed toward them with a grin. Still, the umpire said, “I can call in, but we need to continue for the moment.” And so, they did.
It’s not her first on-court disruption this season! There was a moment when her Australian Open run earlier this year, when a seagull swooped right across her eyeline mid-serve in the opening set. Or last month at Wimbledon, when a stray champagne cork flew onto the court! Clearly, babies and birds aren’t the only ones stopping play.
2. 2024 Acapulco Open faces a scary natural phenomenon
During the 2021 Mexican Open semi-final in Acapulco, Dominik Koepfer and Alexander Zverev were locked in battle when the ground beneath them began to tremble. A substantial earthquake had just hit the city. The German players paused briefly, glancing around, before deciding to keep going despite the shaking court. As the camera wobbled, the commentator jumped in to calm viewers at home: “Wow, if you were wondering why the camera was just moving a little bit during that last point, it wasn’t dodgy camerawork, we’re having a little bit of a mini earthquake here.”
Players and fans froze for a moment, steadying themselves. The crowd, refusing to let nerves take over, clapped to keep the players locked in. At that point, Koepfer had already dropped the first set 6-4 but was leading 40-14 in the opening game of the second. His next shot — struck mid-shake — vanished into the chaos as everyone took in the surreal moment. For a few seconds, tennis and tectonics collided.
The 5.7 magnitude quake finally brought a proper pause, but Zverev openly admitted later, “I didn’t know what happened.” He added, “Neither did Dominik. We just heard the crowd. I guess the lights started shaking and the crowd felt it more than we did. We were running around the court, so we had to play a point during the earthquake.” Only in Acapulco could a semi-final serve up groundstrokes and ground shakes in the same rally.
3. Loud alarm triggers a confused pause on court
In February 2020, Norbert Gombos was fighting to claw his way back against Jannik Sinner when the unthinkable soundtrack for a tennis match blared out — a relentless car alarm. He tried to laugh it off, juggling his tennis ball at midcourt, but the minutes ticked by with no owner and no keys in sight. The chaos barely touched Sinner, who swatted away all six break points, fired nine aces, and sealed a straight-sets win at the Open 13 Marseille, 6-4, 7-6(7-5).
While the match waited for silence, the players turned the delay into light entertainment, inviting a ball boy and ball girl to join them for a quick rally. By the time the alarm died, Sinner’s focus was untouched. The victory lined him up for a second-round battle with Daniil Medvedev, a challenge he embraced with a grin: “Nothing to lose”, he said, ready to go for broke. Car alarms, game pauses, nothing could throw the Italian off his beat.
4. Unexpected scaly friend gets comfortable in Miami
During the 2017 Miami Open, between Tommy Haas and Jiri Vesely, an unusual spectator crashed the court—a massive iguana. The umpire was ready to keep the points rolling with the lizard chilling on the sideline, but Vesely wasn’t having it. Haas, channeling his inner animal lover, walked over, snapped a selfie with the scaly intruder, and added some calm to the chaos.
The iguana put on a real show, slipping past two capture attempts and sending the crowd into a frenzy as it sprinted across the court. Finally caught and secured, the order returned to the match. That interruption has since become one of the quirkiest and most memorable moments in tennis.
If you think that’s wild, remember the bee swarm that brought Indian Wells to a standstill just last year. Bees took over Stadium 1 right in the middle of Carlos Alcaraz’s quarter-final against Alexander Zverev, forcing a 45-minute halt. Enter beekeeper Lance Davis, president of Palm Desert’s Killer Bee Live Removal, who calmly vacuumed the bees off the spidercam and did it all without a protective suit!
5. Players clash, but so did the crowd members!
Tennis crowds are usually polite and well-behaved, but the 2010 US Open served up a scene no one expected. During a Novak Djokovic match, a heated brawl erupted in the stands, ending with three fans being banned from the tournament for two years.
It all started when a woman confronted a man over his behaviour and language. Words flew, tempers flared — and she slapped him across the face. Her elderly father jumped in, grabbing the man, and the two toppled down two rows of seats as stunned spectators looked on.
It was an unforgettable and unusual moment for tennis fans. Hopefully, this year stays drama-free, whether it’s wildlife, rowdy crowds, rogue vehicles, or who knows what else. The US Open kicks off on 24 August, and it’s bound to be a riot in all the right ways!
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