Play at the 2025 Madrid Open was unexpectedly suspended on Monday after a widespread power outage crippled large sections of Spain and Portugal, impacting the tournament and daily life across the Iberian Peninsula. The blackout began around mid-afternoon and halted matches at the Manolo Santana Stadium, including a crucial third-round clash between Britain’s Jacob Fearnley and 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov.
At the time of the outage, Fearnley had just broken Dimitrov’s serve, narrowing the score to 5-4 in the second set. However, as the power cut struck, the stadium’s lights flickered out, disabling the electronic line-calling system and leaving the scoreboard blank. The situation worsened when a suspended camera, known as the “spider cam,” lost power and froze directly above the court. This camera’s positioning blocked the players’ sightlines, preventing the match from continuing even with manual line judges in place. As a result, both players were escorted off the court, leaving spectators in the dark.
Organizers quickly announced that, due to the power failure and ongoing safety concerns, all play for the day and night sessions would be canceled. ATP officials confirmed that the blackout began at 12:34 PM local time and impacted two singles and one doubles match at the Masters 1000 event. Players were seen in the darkened player areas, with some even dining by candlelight, as power restoration efforts began across Madrid.
The power outage affected more than just the tennis tournament. In addition to the disruption at the Madrid Open, thousands of commuters found themselves stranded as power outages knocked out metro systems in Madrid and Lisbon. Traffic lights across major cities stopped working, and airport services were severely affected, with hundreds of flights canceled. The Madrid underground system was also evacuated, and telephone lines were disrupted throughout the country.
Among the notable athletes caught in the power crisis was American tennis star Coco Gauff. Having just defeated Belinda Bencic in straight sets, Gauff was giving a post-match interview when the microphone suddenly cut off. Later, when she headed to the locker rooms to freshen up, she discovered that the water supply had been cut off as well. In true Gauff fashion, she shared her experience on social media, posting a picture of candles distributed in the venue and commenting on how reliant society has become on electricity.
The Spanish power grid operator, Red Eléctrica, confirmed that the outage had affected large swaths of Spain, including Madrid, Valencia, and Seville, as well as Lisbon in Portugal. The grid failure also reached parts of southern France. The operator attributed the disruption to a failure in the transmission system and worked overnight to restore power. By Tuesday morning, Red Eléctrica reported that more than 99% of the electricity supply had been restored across Spain, and officials announced that play at the Madrid Open would resume as scheduled.
Tournament organizers confirmed that gates would open at 11 AM, with matches set to start at noon. The resumption of play on Tuesday marked the return of normalcy at the event, but the blackout’s widespread impact continued to be felt. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez vowed to investigate all potential causes, focusing on whether the incident was linked to renewable energy sources. In the wake of the outage, the Portuguese government requested an independent audit, and an investigative commission was launched in Spain to determine the root cause.
Despite the chaos, the swift restoration of power and the resumption of the tournament highlighted the resilience of both the tournament organizers and the local authorities. With play back on track, the Madrid Open aims to continue without further disruptions. Still, questions remain about the cause and broader impact of the power outage that left an indelible mark on the 2025 edition of the tournament.