The US Open match between Gauff and Muchová will resume after a 40-minute delay
The match between Coco Gauff and Karolína Muchová during a US Open match was abandoned on Thursday after an environmental protester “got his feet stuck to the cement floor”, a spokesman said.
The game between Gauff from the USA and Muchová from the Czech Republic was postponed by around 40 minutes.
A total of three environmental protesters were in an upper area, tournament director Stacey Allaster said in an interview during coverage of the sporting event.
Two of those protesters left quietly and without incident, she said.
“When security forces got there, they discovered that one of the protesters had physically stuck himself to the cement floor with his bare feet,” Allaster said.
Gauff and Muchová took their seats during the delay. A spokesman described it as a protest in the “remote areas” of the stadium.
The game between the two players took place at the 24,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
“NYPD is in the process of resolving a fan disturbance. Play will continue as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience,” US Open Tennis tweeted.
The protester was removed and play resumed.
Police said the incident occurred just after 8 p.m. and the investigation is ongoing. One person was arrested without incident, police said, but their name was not immediately released.
“We know that environmental protesters use the platform at these large events,” Allaster said. “Certainly security will be resumed along with the NYPD to see what else we can do to prevent this from happening in the future.”
That is a Development Story. Please check back for updates.
Emma Li contributed.
