VIDEO: US Open Spectators Boo Climate Activists

Annoyed Attendees Boo Climate​ Protesters at U.S. Open

Annoyed attendees at the U.S. Open booed climate protesters who halted the women’s semi-final between American Coco Gauff and Czech Karolina Muchova for ‍nearly an hour on Thursday.

With Gauff up a set and holding serve to open ‍the second, a‌ disturbance erupted in the upper bowl of Arthur Ashe Stadium, the sport’s largest venue with a seating capacity of ⁢over 23,000. As players looked into the stands, security flooded into the section ​around where protesters were shouting. The surrounding crowd shouted back, “Kick them out!“

Disrupting major events appear to be a trend with climate groups‌ this⁣ year. “Just⁣ Stop Oil” protesters interrupted play at Wimbledon in July, releasing orange ticker-tape mixed with jigsaw puzzle pieces during matches. Other ⁤climate activists sobbed and screamed as Nevada police removed their road ⁢barricade, which caused a⁤ miles-long backup for attendees of the Burning⁣ Man festival last week.

“We plan⁣ for it,” Chris Widmaier, a spokesman for the United States Tennis ⁢ Association (USTA), said. “We prepare for ⁢a lot‌ of things. ⁣To my knowledge, this kind of protest seems to be happening at other places.⁤ We are⁣ very aware of environmental protests. It happened ‌at Wimbledon. It happened at the Citi​ Open.”

USTA issued a statement confirming four climate ⁤protesters were taken into NYPD custody.

“Three of the four ⁣protesters were escorted‌ out of the stadium⁢ without further incident,” the USTA statement said. “The ‍fourth protester affixed their ‌bare feet ⁣to the floor of the seating ⁤bowl. Due to the nature of this action, NYPD and medical personnel were ⁤needed in order to safely⁣ remove this individual from the stadium.”

Photographs ⁢of the scene showed protesters wearing shirts with the slogan, “End Fossil Fuels.” ‌Players were escorted off the court by ​a USTA official and returned for a warm-up 45 minutes later before play resumed.

(Reporting by Steve Keating in New York; Editing by Gerry Doyle, Peter Rutherford)