World No. 4 Coco Gauff was caught in an unusual situation at the Madrid Open when a massive power outage left players navigating the tournament grounds in near-total darkness.
Gauff had just wrapped up a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Belinda Bencic—avenging a recent loss at Indian Wells—when the lights suddenly went out mid-interview inside the Caja Mágica stadium. Fortunately, the American managed to complete her match just moments before play was suspended due to the blackout, which affected large areas of Spain and neighboring Portugal.
“There’s literally no power,” Gauff said in an Instagram video filmed from the locker room. “I’m about to take a shower—and it’s pitch black.”
The footage showed dim emergency lighting near the gym, while the shower area was left completely dark. Gauff later shared a photo of a staff member carrying candles around the grounds, saying she was relieved to have avoided an in-match suspension.
“Apparently the power is out in most of the country and in Portugal. I finished my match right before it happened—thank God,” she added.
The outage affected several matches across the Madrid Open. Britain’s Jacob Fearnley saw his match against Grigor Dimitrov halted on Manolo Santana Stadium, while on Court 4, Matteo Arnaldi was able to finish his win over Damir Dzumhur thanks to quick action by the umpire, who called lines manually with the electronic system down.
Gauff also experienced technical issues during her post-match interview as her microphone cut out abruptly. She was seen looking confused before staff explained the situation.
This wasn’t the only disruption at the event—reports say some players were trapped in elevators and forced to eat meals by candlelight.
