Cincinnati Open hit by power outage as tournament shuts down

Play has been suspended at the Cincinnati Open following a local power outage. All broadcast channels lost pictures from the courts on Monday, before the matches were halted entirely. Electronic line calling is now used across all ATP Tour events, and the automated system cannot be used while the power is down.

When play was suspended, Taylor Fritz had just taken the first set of his match against Lorenzo Sonego. Meanwhile, Benjamin Bonzi started to mount a comeback against Stefanos Tsitsipas. There were also several doubles matches in action.

Broadcast channels across the globe which had been airing the Cincinnati Open suddenly lost access to the court cameras just after 5pm local time.

The matches initially continued without being shown on TV, but they were ultimately halted when it became apparent that the tournament was affected by loss of power. In a brief statement, the tournament tweeted: "Due to an on-site power outage, play is currently suspended." Play later resumed shortly after 6.30pm local time.

On Sky Sports, tennis pundit Gigi Salmon appeared via voiceover to inform viewers of the power outage and the latest score updates before play stopped.

"Welcome back to the Cincinnati Open where unfortunately play is currently suspended. There is a local power outage which has meant a loss of pictures," she announced.

"The tennis did continue for a while. In that time, Taylor Fritz was able to complete that first set on a tiebreak against Lorenzo Sonego, and Benjamin Bonzi was able to come back from dropping the first set to Stefanos Tsitsipas, to move to 5-2 in the second [set] but a local power outage affects the electronic line calling.

"Having slight flashbacks to Madrid, when there was a power outage in most of Spain and parts of France. But we are told that it is starting to come back, but it is coming back slowly. So apologies once again, a power outage in Cincinnati."

US broadcaster Tennis Channel also issued a statement on social media, writing: "Play in Cincinnati is currently suspended due to an onsite power outage. Stay tuned for updates on when the action resumes."

It's not the first time a joint ATP and WTA 1000 tournament has been affected by a power outage this season. Earlier this year, a nationwide power cut forced play to be suspended and ultimately cancelled for the rest of the day at the Madrid Open on Monday, April 28.

At the time, Coco Gauff revealed that she was forced to shower in a pitch black locker room, while other players walked for hours to get back to their hotels in the city while public transport was down and the outage wreaked havoc on the roads.

There is still plenty of play to get through on day five of the Cincinnati Open. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is scheduled to be in action during the night session. Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys and Joao Fonseca are among those who have yet to get on the court.

Earlier in the day, Emma Raducanu suffered a tight 7-6 4-6 7-6 defeat to Aryna Sabalenka, getting their three-hour and nine-minute match done long before the power cut. The likes of Anna Kalinskaya, Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Frances Tiafoe also booked their places in the last 16.

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