Drone crash interrupts US Open tennis match (video)

4 Sep 2015

A second round match between 26th-rankied Flavia Pennetta and Monica Niculescu was interrupted by a drone last night.

A second round match between 26th-ranked Flavia Pennetta and Monica Niculescu at the US Open was interrupted last night when a drone hovered over the court before crashing into stands in the stadium.

The small black drone hovered over the Louis Armstrong stadium during Thursday night’s match, forcing play to be briefly interrupted.

No one was injured in the incident and the New York Police Department is conducting an investigation.

The black device flew diagonally through the arena during the last game of a second-round match between Pennetta of Italy and Niculescu of Romania. Pennetta won the match 6-1, 6-4.

Security fears at US Open

The drone smashed into pieces when it landed in the seating area of the stadium.

The crash interrupted play between points and the chair umpire waited for police to examine the device before allowing the match to continue.

Pennetta admitted she feared the device might have been a bomb.

The incident echoes a similar event last October, when the Serbia v Albania Euro 2016 qualifying match was abandoned after a brawl broke out because a drone flew over the pitch bearing a Greater Albania flag.

US Open image via Shutterstock

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com