The U.S. Open semifinal match on Thursday night between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova was delayed by 49 minutes early in the second set by four environmental protesters in the upper levels of Arthur Ashe Stadium who were calling for an end to fossil fuels.
The protest confused fans, television commentators and the players themselves, who were trying to understand what the group was protesting and why the match had been delayed so long.
As stadium security tried to remove the protesters from the stadium, at least 10 New York City police officers were seen surrounding the disturbance in the upper level.
Chris Widmaier, a spokesman for the United States Tennis Association, which hosts the U.S. Open, said after the match that three of the four protesters were escorted out of the stadium without any issues.
But police officers and medical personnel were brought in to safely remove the fourth protester who had affixed his feet to the ground with some sort of product, Widmaier said.
Persons:
Coco Gauff, Karolina Muchova, Arthur Ashe, Chris Widmaier, Widmaier
Organizations:
U.S, New York City, United States Tennis Association, U.S .