Brazilian tennis player Fernando Romboli experienced an unexpected delay during the Madrid Open when he became stuck in an elevator due to a significant power outage that affected the tournament venue.
The electrical failure, which occurred on Monday, impacted widespread areas across both Spain and Portugal, prompting Spain to declare a national emergency in response.
The power cut left many players stranded at Madrid`s Caja Magica venue as the internal concourse was plunged into darkness.
Romboli, aged 36, faced a particularly difficult situation as he had entered a lift just moments before the power supply failed.
Although the doubles world No. 62 is not competing in the main draw this week, being only on site as an alternate after missing the cut, he was unfortunate enough to spend about half an hour trapped in the lift.
Sharing his plight, Romboli posted a selfie from inside the elevator, giving a thumbs-up and tagging the Madrid Open.
He humorously captioned the photo: “30 minutes stuck in the elevator… if there`s an alternate now I won`t make it in time.”
Eventually, maintenance personnel at the venue successfully managed to pry open the elevator doors, allowing Romboli to escape.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff managed to complete her match against Belinda Bencic, winning 6-4, 6-2, just before the blackout occurred around 12:30 pm.
Gauff, 21, was in the middle of her on-court interview when the power suddenly went off, causing her microphone to fail mid-sentence.
She later revealed the extent of the disruption, stating she couldn`t even take a shower after her match and ultimately had to walk back to her hotel due to the gridlocked streets surrounding the Caja Magica.
Exact moment the power went off at the Madrid Open
British player Jacob Fearnley found himself in a critical point in his match against Grigor Dimitrov, about to serve while trailing 4-6, 4-5, when play was forced to halt.
Following the outage, all remaining matches scheduled for the day were cancelled, and fans were advised to leave the venue if they were able to.
Inside the dark indoor concourse, illuminated only by phone lights, food and drink stalls were open, but customers could only pay with cash as contactless payment systems were non-functional.
Teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva was one player who successfully completed her match before the main disruption.
The young Russian managed to finish her contest against Yuliia Starodubtseva despite the power failure, with the umpire manually calling the lines for the final points.
“Kind of Exciting” Experience
Andreeva, who turns 18 on Tuesday, shared her thoughts with the WTA after her match: “This is my first blackout. It’s actually kind of exciting because I’ve never experienced anything like this.”
She added, “I’m super happy that they put me first so I got to finish everything on time.”
However, she also expressed her wish not to have to stay overnight: “But I don’t want to spend the night here and sleep in the gym, but we’re going to see what they tell us and just go from there.”
Provided power is fully restored, Tuesday is anticipated to be a packed day as the tournament organizers work to catch up on the schedule.
The resumption of Fearnley`s match against Dimitrov is planned as the second fixture on Manolo Santana court, following the battle between Diana Shnaider and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek.
