Woman protestor disrupts French Open semi-final, ties herself to the net

A woman disrupted the semi-final between Croatia's Marin Cilic and Norwegian Casper Ruud at the ongoing French Open 2022 on Friday (May 03). The environmental activist jumped onto the court and tied herself to the net during the men's singles semi-final between the two players. The game had to be delayed by 15 minutes due to the disruption caused by the woman.

The woman, a French national, was spotted wearing a t-shirt with a message - 'we have 1028 days left' referring to the UN report on climate change. The woman walked on to the Court Phillipe-Chatrier unchallenged raising serious questions over the security arrangements at the tournament.

The woman tied herself to the net with a string around her neck and raised her right hand while the message on her t-shirt was highlighted. The French Tennis Federation said the woman had entered the grounds with a valid ticket earlier in the day and attached herself to the net with the help of metal and glue.

Both Cilic and Casper Ruud were quick to leave the court as the woman stormed onto it and tied herself to the net. The tournament's director Amelie Mauresmo looked on as security guards had to remove the woman before the match resumed. She was handed over to the police by the guards.

"An environmental activist managed to get onto Philippe Chatrier Court and attached herself to the net with metal wires and glue. The young woman, of French nationality, entered the grounds with a valid ticket early in the day. She was then handed over to the police," The French Tennis Federation said in a statement.

Reacting to the incident, Casper Rudd, who defeated Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 in the semi-final on Friday, said he didn't know how to react to the situation. He was leading 3-6 6-4 4-1 against the Croatian before the play was interrupted by the protestor. The Norwegian said the break helped him find his groove again.

"When it comes to this protest, it was a little bit, what should I say, nasty is maybe a good word, because I didn't really know how to react to it," Ruud told reporters after his victory," said Casper Rudd.

"It was a little bit tricky and difficult situation. Never happened to me before. So we were taken outside for six, seven minutes and I got to regroup a little bit and got my flow going again," he added.