Widespread power cuts have severely disrupted the Madrid Open, leading to the suspension of play. Several major cities across Spain and Portugal are currently experiencing blackouts.
The disruption affected sport, specifically the Madrid Open. British tennis player Jacob Fearnley was in the middle of a match against Grigor Dimitrov when a loud noise occurred between points.
Fearnley was a set down and trailing 5-4 in the second when play was stopped. The umpire immediately suspended the match as the scoreboard and electronic line calling system failed.
Players and spectators were initially confused, especially when the official, Adel Nour, offered to manually judge line calls from his chair courtside.
However, Fearnley then pointed out that the spider camera hanging above the net was immobile and at risk of being struck. The umpire then announced a power cut, and both players returned to the locker rooms.
Play was officially suspended at the Masters 1000 tournament for two hours, with no immediate indication of when it would resume.
In a peculiar moment, the main stadium`s DJ connected to the speakers and started playing music. This led fans, who were also unable to buy food or drinks, rushing back to their seats, which turned out to be premature.
However, the impact wasn`t limited to the Madrid Open. Entire cities across Spain and Portugal lost electricity and internet connectivity.
Airports and train systems came to a standstill, causing widespread disruption in both countries. Significant traffic congestion occurred in areas like Madrid as traffic lights ceased functioning, with emergency services deployed to manage the chaos.
Madrid`s Barajas Airport was still without power, Valencia`s metro network was shut down for the day, and the disruption extended to Seville, Barcelona, and Pamplona.
Data from Spain`s national electricity grid indicated a sudden and significant drop in power. Red Electrica, the Spanish national grid operator, announced they were working urgently to restore electricity.
They stated that the outage was due to a system failure affecting the entire peninsula.
Fearnley, a 23-year-old player from Edinburgh, has been nicknamed the “next Andy Murray” following his rapid ascent in the rankings over the past year.
In 2024, the promising player set a record by climbing 547 places in the rankings within 12 months.
Fearnley is currently ranked world No. 68 and reached the third round of the Australian Open earlier this year, where he defeated former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios.
