blackout cancels games, players eat by candlelight

Electrical chaos unfolded this morning across Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France due to a massive power outage that disrupted daily life for millions, including players at the Mutua Madrid Open. The tournament came to a standstill on Monday, April 28, with matches suspended and later canceled.

Several matches were interrupted at the tournament. In the men’s division, Grigor Dimitrov’s match against Jacob Fearnley was halted while Fearnley was serving to stay in the match at Manolo Santana Stadium. Meanwhile, Damir Dzumhur’s clash with Matteo Arnaldi on the Arantxa Sánchez Vicario court was also stopped.

On the doubles side, Christian Harrison and Evan King’s match against Matthew Ebden and John Peers was suspended due to poor lighting. 

In women’s singles, Mirra Andreeva’s victory over Yulia Starodubtseva and Coco Gauff’s win against Belinda Bencic were completed before the outage took full effect. However, during Gauff’s post-match interview, the lights suddenly cut out, leaving her shaken as confusion spread through the grounds.

© Gety

Tennis star Fernando Romboli was one of those in attendance who had an experience, getting stuck in an elevator for thirty minutes. The 36-year-old walked in just as the major power outage hit around 12:30, and was able to escape around 1 pm. He shared a selfie on Instagram, laughing it off. 

© @fernando_romboli

Tournament organizers later confirmed that all remaining matches for the day and night sessions were canceled to ensure the safety of players, staff, and fans. Spectators were advised to leave the grounds if possible, although some players were forced to stay on-site amid the chaos.

While some athletes were able to leave, others were forced to eat meals by candlelight. Tennis journalist Gigi Salmon for Sky Sports explained how tennis stars were left eating by candlelight in the player restaurant.

“Everyone is in darkness,” she said, per MSN. “I walked past the player restaurant, and the players are eating much by candlelight so that they can actually see what they’re eating.”

Gauff was able to leave, documenting both the candle and the traffic situation. 

The blackout began around 12:32 PM local time. On Monday evening, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said a nationwide blackout of this scale had never happened before in Spain, per NPR. With 60% of the power lost in a matter of seconds, the underlying cause is still a mystery. 

It affected the entire Iberian Peninsula and parts of southern France, disrupting transportation systems, phone and internet services, hospitals (which switched to emergency generators), airports, ATMs, and traffic lights.

© IG @cocogauff

The Spanish government declared a state of emergency, warning that full restoration could take hours or even days, depending on the region. As of now, some areas have regained electricity, while others remain affected.

The cause of the outage remains under investigation. Initial reports suggested it may have been triggered by rare atmospheric phenomena that caused temperature-induced fluctuations in high-voltage lines.