Madrid Open tennis: Play cancelled for April 28 after massive power outage hits Spain

Power outage on Monday has forced play at the Mutua Madrid Open to be cancelled as parts of Spain, and rest of Europe are facing a power crisis. According to reports, two singles matches and one doubles match at the ATP Masters 1000 event were underway when the outage occurred, at 12:34 p.m. local time (CEST), forcing a suspension of play.

Reports further stated that the power outage prevented the use of electronic line calling systems and also left a spider cam dangling over the court inside the Manolo Santana Stadium, where Grigor Dimitrov was in the lead against Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 5-4 when play came to a halt.

Off-field struggles for Coco Gauff

Meanwhile, former US Open champion Coco Gauff was preparing to shower in a dark locker room after play at the Madrid Open tennis tournament was suspended Then Gauff realized that the water was off, too. “So I just had to take baby wipes and wipe myself,” Gauff said, “and spray some perfume and call it a day.”

Gauff managed to beat Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-2 shortly before the outage, which apparently cut off the sound as she was giving a post-match interview on the court. Then the 2023 US Open champion posted an Instagram story showing only an emergency light working in an otherwise dark locker room.

“The cut is preventing the use of electronic line calling systems and also left a spider cam dangling over the court inside Manolo Santana Stadium,” the ATP said. Tournament organizers said they "had no choice but to suspend/cancel all sporting activity in order to guarantee the safety of the players, fans and personnel." They recommended all spectators leave the sports complex.

Restoring power could take up to 10 hours

The blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill, knocking out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATM machines. Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica said restoring power to large parts of the country after the outage could take up to 10 hours. The company declined to speculate on the causes of the blackout. Gauff also posted a photo of candles being distributed.

“I don’t think we’re even going to be able to go back to the hotel because the traffic lights are out,” Gauff said. “It’s just crazy how much we depend on electricity. It’s really insane and puts it in perspective.” Another fourth-round women’s match was also completed before the blackout: Mirra Andreeva beat Yuliia Starodubtseva 6-1, 6-4.

With AP inputs