Mirra Andreeva was on the brink of winning her match when the lights suddenly went out early Monday afternoon in Madrid.
“It was 15-40 on my serve,” Andreeva later shared with reporters. “I thought, `Oh, Mirra, please – please – use all your strength to win this game and finish the match.` I knew if it went to 5-5, we would likely face a long delay, and I`d still be here.”
Coco Gauff had already defeated Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-2 and was giving her post-match interview when the microphone stopped working. Security quickly escorted her back to the players` lounge.
“It was completely dark, and I understood that the power had gone out,” Gauff said. “I initially thought it was just us, but then I realized it affected the whole country – which is truly incredible.”
The outage wasn`t limited to just Spain but impacted much of Europe, affecting millions. While the exact cause was initially unclear, early reports pointed to issues within the European electric grid.
As a result, Andreeva, who eventually secured a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Yuliia Starodubtseva with the chair umpire calling the lines, and Gauff were the only players to successfully reach the quarterfinals at the Mutua Madrid Open on the scheduled day. They are set to face each other later in the week.
“The last time I played her on clay was at Roland Garros in 2023,” Andreeva recalled. “The first set was close, but the rest of the match was not great. She didn`t give me a chance. But that was two years ago, so I`m really looking forward to seeing how differently I play now, not necessarily for revenge. I think it will be an exciting match.”
Andreeva has reached the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
“This year, I`m aiming to go further,” she stated. “I`ll do everything I can to win.”
While chaos reigned outside the venue – with internet, train systems, and airports shutting down – there was a sense of camaraderie among the players, united by their shared experience.
“Everyone is using their phone flashlights,” Andreeva said, adding, “but it`s also kind of fun because everyone is talking together, and the atmosphere feels a bit more relaxed.”
Gauff echoed this sentiment: “I was thinking the exact same thing. Usually, we`re all focused on preparing for our matches, really in our own zones, and we respect that. But I was talking to Frances [Tiafoe], talking to Mirra, too, Diana [Shnaider], Maddy [Keys].”
“This is the kind of situation that`s light-hearted; nobody knows when they`ll get back on court,” Gauff added.
“This is my first blackout,” said Andreeva, who was glad to have a book and some Uno cards to occupy her time. “It`s actually quite thrilling because I`ve never been through anything like this. I`m extremely happy they scheduled me first so I could finish everything on time.”
“But I really don`t want to spend the night here and sleep in the gym,” she added. “We`ll just see what they tell us and take it from there.”
Not everyone was as fortunate. Grigor Dimitrov was serving for his match in Manolo Santana Stadium against qualifier Jacob Fearnley when play was suspended.
“That`s tennis, that`s life,” Gauff commented. “I feel like at this point, this is a situation you can only laugh at, especially if I had still been on court. Because it will probably never happen again, and we`ll always remember the day the power went out at the Madrid Open.”
On Sunday, Gauff had requested her match be placed second in the order of play.
“But I`m glad that request didn`t get approved,” she said with a laugh. “Props to the WTA supervisors for making the right decision for me in the end.”
The biggest inconvenience at that moment, she mentioned, was being unable to take a proper post-match shower.
“There`s no running water, so I just had to use baby wipes to clean myself,” Gauff explained, “and spray some perfume and call it a day. I don`t even think we`ll be able to get back to the hotel because the traffic lights are out.”
“It`s just mind-blowing how much we rely on electricity; it`s truly insane and gives you perspective. It also makes me think about people before electricity and how impressive that was,” she concluded.
Rupert Caldwell