On Monday, masked pro-Palestinian supporters scattered leaflets on the Australian Open court, temporarily halting a fourth-round match between Olympic champion Alexander Zverev of Germany and Cameron Norrie of Britain.
The interruption occurred from behind the baseline during the sixth game of the third set at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, news.com.au report.
Margaret Court Arena during the fourth round singles match between Alexander Zverev (Germany) and Cameron Norrie (Great Britain) at the 2024 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 22, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. Protesters throwing paper at. (Darian Trainor/Getty Images)
Printed in black on a white page were the messages “Liberate Palestine'' and “Bombs are falling in Gaza while you watch tennis.''
The ball kids gathered their papers and the game continued after a short delay.
Security guards escorted the demonstrators, but then the crowd intervened to stop the chaos and forcibly remove the demonstrators.
Tennis Australia said two spectators alerted security to stop the protesters, and said it was “thankful for their actions”.
Baseball players rush to put away papers after being interrupted by protesters (Darian Trainor/Getty)
“Venue security was deployed to detain the individual, who was subsequently removed from the event,” organizers said in a statement. “As we saw tonight, those who attempt to disrupt the event will be removed.”
The Australian Open takes a tough stance against political demonstrations at the tournament, and bans the display of flags not associated with the country the player represents.
After the brawl ended, Zverev overcame a fierce challenge from Norrie to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals.
