Coco Gauff’s fourth-round match against Sorana Cirstea at the Miami Open was halted in the third set when the umpire noticed a fan had “passed out” in the stands. Cirstea had forced a deciding set and was serving at 0-3 down in the third when the chair umpire, Jennifer Zhang, noticed a fan struggling in the stands and quickly stopped play.
Other spectators in the crowd started shouting out to grab the umpire’s attention, and it worked. She got down off her chair and told Gauff: “Sorry Coco, we need to check first.” Tournament director James Blake was also seen standing courtside. “On Centre Court, we have a lady passed out in the stands, just behind the first row, across from the chair umpire. She needs a drink or ice towel, anything,” Zhang said over her walkie-talkie.
“Looks like we’ve got something going on in the crowd here. Looks like we’re going to get a bit of medical attention for this person who is suffering,” Naomi Cavaday said on Sky Sports commentary. Miles Maclagan replied: “Not as hot as it can be. A lot of the Stadium is in shade. It’s a bit too warm for whoever is concerned, we hope that they are okay, make a quick recovery. Coco sharing out some of her sports drink.”
The umpire kicked into gear, running over to get some water and ice towels. Gauff also handed a drink to a ball boy to pass on. Zhang went to join Cirstea, who had been serving at 40-15. “I didn’t see it at first, I only saw someone pointing,” the umpire told Cirstea and others through her walkie-talkie.
“So they will try and remove the person from the stadium, just so that they can be in a bit more of a comfortable situation and get the medical attention required. As we can hear from the radio, medical assistance is on the way,” Cavaday told viewers.
“It is a hot day. When the courts were in full sunshine, we had fans out trying to cool them down. But the main stadium court inside the Hard Rock Stadium is very much in shade now.”
Cirstea waited at her bench while the umpire went and stood with Gauff on the sidelines. The No. 4 seed’s box appeared to be near the area of the crowd where the spectator was, and they stepped in. “Your team is helping,” Zhang told her.
Maclagan added: “I think that’s Coco Gauff’s physio helping out with whoever is in a little bit of distress there.” Gauff and Cirstea continued to wait at the side of the court, occasionally jumping around and shadow-swinging to stay warm during the delay.
The fans inside the Stadium Court started applauding after a few minutes, indicating that the affected spectator had received assistance. “We’ve been told that the person who was really struggling has been helped out of the Stadium and can now get that medical attention, and we can now resume,” Cavaday said.
When play resumed, Cirstea quickly closed out her service game to get on the board for the first time in set three. But Gauff for the job done, breaking Cirstea one final time to claim a 6-4 3-6 6-2 victory. The Florida native has finally reached a long-awaited maiden quarter-final at the Miami Open.
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