Tennis players heave sigh of relief as power finally comes back on in Madrid after huge outage
According to reports, power has been restored in some parts of Spain, including in Madrid where on Monday, 22 matches were canceled.
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Matches at the Madrid Open on Monday were canceled due to power cut (Image via X/Gulf Today)
Entire Spain, Portugal, and some parts of France plunged into darkness due to the massive power outage on Monday. The strange event, which happened for the first time, caused mixed reactions among the tennis players in the ongoing Madrid Open.
Only three matches were concluded on Monday (April 28). Coco Gauff and Mirra Andreeva booked themselves a spot in the quarterfinals and will lock horns with each other on Wednesday. And so will Matteo Arnaldi, who, after upsetting three-time Madrid Open champion Novak Djokovic, eliminated Damir Dzumhur.
Apart from these matches, the rest of Monday’s 22 matches were canceled and scheduled for Tuesday. This also includes Grigor Dimitrov‘s third-round match against Jacob Fearnley. The Bulgarian was on the verge of winning, but squandered a match point. When the Scot was about to serve, the play was suspended and eventually the players walked off the court.
But now, reports have emerged that power has been restored in several parts of Spain, including in some areas of Madrid. 2024 Olympic silver medalist Donna Vekic took to Instagram to share that power came back around 9 p.m. local time.
Check out her Instagram story here:
The exact cause of this is unknown and there have been debates and discussions about the reasons behind this unusual incident. Portugal’s Prime Minister Luis Montenegro brushed off suggestions of a cyberattack.
Tennis journalist gives account of what happened during the power outage at the Madrid Open
The power out went around 12:30 local time. While this caused a lot of confusion, famous tennis journalist Gigi Salmon gave an account of what went behind the scenes.
I spoke to a number of players. Players at the hotel were told not to come on-site, players on the site were told not to leave. Simple things like they couldn’t get rackets strung and there was no power in the showers. They couldn’t make their way out onto the practice courts and they are eating their food by candlelight.
Sky Sport’s Gigi Salmon said
On Tuesday, Aryna Sabalenka will be locking horns with Peyton Stearns in the fourth round, while Donna Vekic will be meeting Madison Keys. Iga Swiatek, on the other hand, will be playing Diana Shnaider.
In Men’s tennis, eyes will be on Alexander Zverev versus Francisco Cerundolo‘s match as well as Daniil Medvedev‘s clash with Brandon Nakashima. On Tuesday, however, the Madrid Open took to X to announce further delay, but about an hour later, they wrote that the power was restored.
Electrical supplies have been restored at the Caja Mágica. To ensure the proper functioning of the entire facility, the opening of doors will take place at 11:00 AM, and the event will begin at 12:00 PM, as scheduled.
Madrid Open wrote on
Check out their post here:
Power supply has been restored at the Caja Mágica. To ensure the proper functioning of the entire facility, gates will open at 11:00 AM, and play will begin at 12:00 PM, as originally scheduled.#MMOPEN
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 29, 2025
How tennis players reacted after power outage at the Madrid Open
Following her match, Coco Gauff’s on-court interview was cut short as the mic abruptly stopped functioning due to the blackout. The 2023 US Open champion later told reporters that because of no running water, she was forced to use baby wipes to wipe herself. Gauff also wondered at humans’ dependence on electricity and was curious how they used to live when electricity was not invented.
Brazilian No.62 doubles player Fernando Romboli was stuck in the elevator for 30 minutes before the maintenance men came and forced the door to open. Marta Kostyuk, on the other hand, posted a picture of her holding a candle. Sabalenka had her dinner during the sunset, along with her friends.
Check out their posts here:
Gauff also revealed that the traffic light didn’t work, instead of the car, she was forced to walk to the hotel. She is bidding to win her first title of the season in the Spanish capital.
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