A power outage struck in Madrid on Monday afternoon while Mirra Andreeva was serving for her match. Andreeva later shared that at 15-40 on her serve, she was desperate to win the game and finish the match quickly, fearing a delay if the opponent broke back.
Coco Gauff had already finished her match against Belinda Bencic, winning 6-4, 6-2, and was giving an on-court interview when the microphone failed. Security promptly escorted her to the players` lounge. Gauff described the sudden darkness and her shock upon realizing the outage wasn`t confined to the venue but affected the entire country, calling it “insane.”
The blackout, which affected millions across Spain and much of Europe, was initially attributed to issues with the European electric grid. Consequently, Andreeva, who secured a 6-1, 6-4 victory (with the chair umpire calling lines due to systems being down), and Gauff were the only players to successfully reach the quarterfinals on schedule. They are set to play each other later in the tournament.
Andreeva recalled their previous clay-court encounter at Roland Garros in 2023, where Gauff dominated after a tight first set. She is looking forward to the upcoming match not for revenge, but to see how much her game has changed and expects an “entertaining” contest. This marks Andreeva`s second consecutive year reaching the quarterfinals in Madrid. She stated her goal is to advance further this year and she will “do everything possible to win.”
While the outage caused widespread disruption outside the venue, affecting internet, trains, and airports, players inside found a sense of community stemming from their shared unusual experience. Andreeva found the situation “kind of fun,” noting that everyone was using their phone flashlights and talking, which created a more friendly atmosphere. Gauff agreed, stating that while players are usually focused on match preparation, this situation was “light-hearted” and allowed them to relax and chat without knowing when play would resume. She mentioned talking with other players like Frances Tiafoe, Mirra Andreeva, Diana Shnaider, and Maddy Keys.
Andreeva called it her “first blackout” and “kind of exciting,” happy to have finished her match as scheduled because it was put on first. She passed the time with a book and Uno cards. However, she added that she didn`t want to spend the night sleeping in the gym and would wait for further instructions.
Not everyone was as fortunate; Grigor Dimitrov`s match was suspended while he was serving for the win against Jacob Fearnley. Gauff took a philosophical approach, calling it “that`s tennis, that`s life” and a situation you can only laugh at, likely a unique event that everyone will remember. The day before, Gauff had actually requested her match be scheduled second. But she was ultimately glad her request wasn`t granted and thanked the WTA supervisors for making the “right decision” that allowed her to finish on time.
Her biggest immediate inconvenience, she noted, was the inability to take a post-match shower. With no running water, she had to use baby wipes and perfume, and wasn`t sure they could even return to the hotel due to traffic lights being out. She reflected on humanity`s significant dependence on electricity, calling it “crazy” and “insane,” and found it impressive to consider life before it existed.
