Coco Gauff, of the United States, reacts as protestors disrupt play between Gauff and Karolina Muchova, of the Czech Republic, in the course of the girls’s singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, on September 7, 2023, in New York.| Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. Open semifinal between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova was delayed early within the second set due to a disruption by environmental activists within the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands on Thursday night time.

Gauff was forward 6-4, 1-0 when play was halted for at the least 25 minutes.

Tournament referee Jake Garner got here out onto the court docket, whereas safety headed towards the place the protesters had been. They had been carrying shirts that learn, “End Fossil Fuels.” At least one particular person glued their footwear to the bottom, making it tougher to be eliminated.

At least two protesters had been taken away. Later, greater than a half-dozen cops arrived — greeted by cheers from followers close to the part the place the disruption occurred. Spectators had been requested to maneuver away to clear a path for the police.

An viewers member yells at protesters as they reveal at a match between Coco Gauff, of the United States, and Karolina Muchova, of the Czech Republic, in the course of the girls’s singles semifinals of the U.S. Open tennis championships, on September 7, 2023, in New York.| Photo Credit:AP

Gauff sat on her sideline bench for a bit, consuming fruit out of a plastic container, earlier than then getting some tennis balls and hitting a number of observe serves. Muchova was briefly visited by a coach in the course of the interruption.

Eventually, each gamers headed towards the locker room because the delay continued. Gauff sat on a treadmill, a towel draped over her lap, whereas chatting with members of her group.

It is the most recent in a latest collection of protests at sporting occasions — and tennis, particularly — associated to the usage of fossil fuels at.

At Wimbledon in July, two matches had been interrupted when environmental activists jumped out of the stands at Court 18 and scattered orange confetti on the grass.

At a U.S. Open tune-up match in Washington final month, a couple of dozen folks had been requested to depart the positioning after chanting and displaying indicators protesting the usage of fossil fuels.