Several protesters were arrested Thursday night in the U.S. Open. They delayed the match between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova at 8:05 p.m. after shouting about climate change, interrupting the match. The protesters were wearing shirts that read “End Fossil Fuels.” 

Three of the four activists were immediately removed from the stadium, while the fourth one glued his bare feet to the ground. The police and medical professionals were called in to remove him from the stadium safely. All four protesters were then taken into custody by the New York Police Department.

Two protesters have already been charged. Sayak Mukhopadhyay, 50, of White Plains, and Gregory Schwdock, 35, of Manhattan, were charged with criminal trespass. Mukhopadhyay was additionally charged with disorderly conduct after gluing his feet to the floor stands.           

The protest lasted for almost 50 minutes before play could resume. Gauff won the match to advance to her first U.S. Open final.

In response to the climate protest, Gauff said that while she was a bit annoyed that the protesters disrupted the match, she didn’t have a problem with it.

“It was done in a peaceful way, so I can’t get too mad at it. Obviously, I don’t want it to happen when I’m winning up 6-4 1-0, and I wanted the momentum to keep going. But hey, if that’s what they felt they needed to do to get their voices heard, I can’t really get upset at it,” Gauff told reporters.

Extinction Rebellion, a climate protest group, has claimed responsibility for the protest.

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A late summer heat wave has struck the US Open. Men’s Singles semifinalist Daniil Medvedev remarked that a “player is going to die” if these conditions persist.

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