On Thursday, Climate protesters stopped the US Open women’s semifinal between American Coco Gauff and Czech Karolina Muchova for about an hour.
With Gauff up a set and having serve to open the second, a botheration erupted in the upper bowl of Arthur Ashe Stadium, the sport’s largest venue with a seating capacity of over 23,000.
Stacey Allaster, United States Tennis Association (USTA) Chief Executive of Professional Tennis, told ESPN the disruption involved three climate protesters.
The USTA later published a statement verifying four were carried into NYPD custody.
“Three of the four protesters were taken out of the stadium without additional incident,” said the USTA statement. “The fourth protester tied their bare feet to the floor of the seating bowl.”
“Due to the nature of this action, NYPD and medical personnel were required to safely pull this person from the stadium.”
Photos of the scene showed protesters sporting shirts with the slogan, ‘End Fossil Fuels.’
As participants looked into the stands, security surged into the area around where protesters were screaming. Television pictures showed more than a dozen law enforcement officers in the area.
Players were escorted off the court by a USTA official and returned for a warm-up 45 minutes later before play continued.
Several significant sporting events have been targeted by climate groups this year. ‘Just Stop Oil’ protesters stopped play at Wimbledon in July, releasing orange ticker tape mixed with jigsaw puzzle pieces during games.
Earlier this month climate activists disrupted the second ashes test.
