The semi-final match of the US Open Tennis Championships was delayed for nearly an hour on Thursday night when a group of climate activists disrupted the event. The four “Extinction Rebellion” eco-protesters—one of whom glued his bare feet to the floor—were ultimately arrested and forcibly removed from the stadium before the match could resume.
Thursday night’s semi-final match at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City, pitting American Coco Gauff against Czech Karolína Muchová, was entering its second set when the disruption began. As Gauff prepared to serve, two men and one woman wearing shirts emblazoned with the slogan “End Fossil Fuels” stood and began loudly chanting.
Stadium security and several New York City police officers quickly moved to confront the protesters, escorting two of them out of the stadium immediately. 35-year-old Manhattan resident Gregory Schwedock was charged with criminal trespass, while the female protester and a fourth activist encountered later were given trespass notices banning them from the stadium.
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However, the delay was extended by 50-year-old Sayak Mukhopadhyay, who glued his feet to the concrete floor of the stands, a common tactic among eco-protesters making it more difficult for authorities to remove them from the scene. A statement from the US Open addressed the delay, saying “The fourth protester affixed their bare feet to the floor of the seating bowl. Due to the nature of this action, NYPD and medical personnel were needed in order to safely remove this individual from the stadium.”
USTA Statement on Stadium Protesters pic.twitter.com/KL5mxMzSHB
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 8, 2023
Mukhopadhyay was charged with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct. Video of the incident shows other audience members booing the protesters and shouting “You suck!” and “F**k you!” as police escorted them away.
In the wake of the arrests, the New York chapter of the pro-environment extremist group Extinction Rebellion took credit for the disruption. “Today’s action highlights the neglect of the climate and ecological breakdown by governments and corporations,” a statement from the group said. “The group emphasizes that the present socio-economic system can’t protect people from the crises to come, because its very structure creates these crises and then ignores them.”
Extinction Rebellion and other similar groups have been behind public disruptions around the world in recent months. In July, British environmental group Just Stop Oil disrupted a tennis match at Wimbledon by running onto the court and scattering orange confetti. Other incidents have involved activists blocking highways and throwing cans of soup onto famous works of art.
Once the protesters were contained and the set resumed, Coco Gauff went on to win the US Open semi-final match 6-4, 7-5, advancing to the finals. Gauff expressed her frustration with the disruption, which she remarked had been handled like a “hostage negotiation.” “We didn’t know how long it was going to take,” she said. “We were talking to the supervisor and security. You know, they could say it could be as quick as five minutes or as long as an hour. It was tough to figure out if we stay warm or conserve energy. … But, you know, it’s life. It happens.”
However, Gauff clarified that she shares the protesters’ concern for the environment and only wishes the demonstration hadn’t taken place during her match.
“I always speak about preaching about what you feel and what you believe in,” Gauff continued. “It was done in a peaceful way, so I can’t get too mad at it… I think that, you know, moments like this, yeah, are history-defining moments. Like I said, I prefer it not to happen in my match, but I wasn’t pissed at the protesters.”
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