A significant national power outage has led to the suspension of all play for the day at the prestigious Madrid Open, one of the most significant events in the tennis calendar.

Organisers of the tournament announced that there would be no further matches or activities on Monday, emphasizing that the decision was made to ensure the safety of all participants and attendees. This extraordinary disruption comes as a consequence of a widespread blackout that has impacted vast regions of both Spain and Portugal, leaving many without electricity since approximately midday local time.

The outage has had far-reaching implications, severely affecting public transport systems, card payment services, and mobile networks across the affected areas. However, officials from the Portuguese energy company REN have indicated that power is beginning to be restored in certain regions, alleviating some immediate concerns.

According to reports, REN has attributed the outage to a "rare" atmospheric phenomenon, which is believed to be linked to unusual variations in temperature. Such occurrences, while infrequent, can have substantial implications for energy distribution networks and have raised questions about infrastructure resilience in the face of climate-related events.

Among those impacted by the power failure was Britains Jacob Fearnley, who found himself in a tense third-round match against Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov. Just as Fearnley was on the brink of making a comebackhaving saved a match point and being ready to serve while trailing at 6-4, 5-4the match was abruptly halted due to the outage on the main court.

The power cut led to the failure of the electronic line-calling system, which had been installed to replace traditional line judges, as well as the tournament's scoreboards. After a brief delay while officials assessed the situation, the umpire announced a temporary restart, taking over line calls himself due to the malfunctioning technology.

However, complications arose when the spider camera, which provides aerial views of the court and hangs low above it, became stuck in position. This created an obstructed view for the players, further complicating the situation. Following additional discussions with tournament officials, the umpire ultimately decided to lead the players back to the locker room, effectively concluding the days play.

The Madrid Open, which attracts top talent from around the globe, is a critical event in the lead-up to major tournaments, and disruptions like this one underscore the vulnerabilities of modern sporting events dependent on technology. As the tournament organizers navigate this unexpected challenge, many will be watching to see how they manage the recovery of the event amidst ongoing power issues.