WATCH: Protestors run to the court and tie themselves to the net at the Davis Cup in another incident of a security breach this season
Follow Us
Protestors at the Davis Cup 2022 - (Image Credits (L) Twitter Handle of Raquel Bermúdez, (R) IMAGO / ZUMA Wire)
The 2022 Davis Cup, the world cup of tennis, is currently taking place in Malaga, Spain. The tournament is scheduled between the 22nd to 27th of November as the eight remaining nations fight for the biggest team prize in the sport. Russia was the defending champion but is currently banned from the competition due to the ongoing Ukraine War presenting a big chance for other nations to win the Cup.
The Davis Cup has always been in talks in tennis circles. However, ever since the introduction of the new format, there has been much criticism due to the big changes implemented by the Kosmos Group (a company owned by former Spanish and Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique) who took over the reign and brought in the new rules from 2019.
The criticism has continued this year as well but the discussions took another big turn after yesterday’s events. During the tie between Spain and Croatia, following Borna Coric‘s win over Pablo Carreno Busta in the first singles match, two protesters broke past the security as the players returned to their benches.
The two protestors rushed towards the net in an attempt to tie themselves to it. The on-court security rushed to get hold of them with the female protestor getting nabbed first. The male protestor however managed to tie himself momentarily before being handcuffed and dragged off the court by three security personnel.
Distraction was not enough for Spain to beat Croatia at the Davis Cup
While the actual reason for the protest was not clear, the crowd had a mixed reaction to the incident. As seen and heard in the video, many of the members did not support the actions and booed when the two protestors were taken off the court. Now whether the boos were for the protestors or the security, remains unclear.
For the host nation Spain, it was a night to forget. After the security breach that will surely be a question asked to the management and organizers, the players also had a bad day at the office as they lost 2-0 to the Croatians crashing out in the quarter-finals despite having the home crowd’s support. The Croatians will now take on Australia in the semi-finals after the Aussies beat Netherlands 2-0 in their quarter-final tie of the Davis Cup.
This season has seen a lot of protestors making their way to the court increasing the concern for the safety of the players. During the men’s singles finals of the 2022 Australian Open, a protestor had made her way to the court holding a banner against refugee detention in Australia.
In the semi-finals of the 2022 French Open, a woman tied herself to the net that suspended the play for 10 minutes. Even at the 2022 Laver Cup, a man had reached the court and set his arm on fire in protest against the Private Jet emissions in the UK putting a question on the security arrangement of the players.
Stay Updated!
Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)