During the semifinal French Open match between No. 8 Casper Ruud and No. 20 Marin Čilić on Friday, a fan made her way onto the court and secured herself to the net, pausing play.
The woman appeared to have glued her hand to the net, while also locking herself to the net by using a neck string.
It took security around 15 minutes to get her detached from the net. They carried her off of Court Philippe-Chatrier. Ruud and Čilić were also escorted off the court into the locker room until security made sure the court was safe again.
The Tennis Channel broadcast did not shed light on the protester, although some fans were able to capture footage of what occurred.
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The women wore a shirt saying “We have 1028 days left.” The shirt represents a climate change activism group in France called “Dernière Rénovation.” The project began on March 28 of this year, and its hope is to better the climate in the next three to four years.
This incident is similar to the protesters who appeared at various Timberwolves games in the NBA playoffs this year. One fan glued herself to the court, while another chained herself to the basket.
The match was in the middle of the third set when play halted, as Ruud led the set 4–1. Čilić won the first set 6–3, while Ruud won the second set 6–4. Because the pause was 15+ minutes total, the competitors were allowed a short warmup before resuming play.
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