It happened so quickly the TV announcers barely knew what was going on. A young woman bolted from her seat onto the iconic red-clay court and attached herself to the net in the middle of the semi-final round between Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic at the French Open on Friday.
Source: CHIZMAGA Twitter
The protestor wore a white t-shirt with the phrase, “We have 1028 days left” scrawled across the front along with the website url derniererenovation.fr.
After bolting onto the court she fastens herself to the net with a necklace and kneels in front with a stoic expression until the guards arrive. Security guards can then be seen meandering to the net to detach the woman. She then goes limp as four large men in black suits carry her away.
Her stunt caused a ten minute interruption to the match.
The protestor’s shirt links her to a French activist group called Derniere Renovation which advocates for zero-carbon renovations of all homes in France.
The group claims to be “civil resistors” against the French government.
Nadal Wins Again
Despite the interruption, Casper Ruud became the first Norwegian player to reach a Grand Slam singles final and went on to defeat Marin Cilic 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2 to advance to the French Open final where he faced superstar Rafael Nadal.
“Rafa has been my idol all of my life,” Ruud told the BBC. “He is the last of the big three top players in the world that I’ve never played so it’s perfect timing to play him in a Grand Slam final and it will be a special moment for me. It’s something I have dreamed about.”
Caspar Ruud via Roland Garros YouTube
In the Roland Garros final Rafael Nadal defeated Rudd 6-3 6-3 6-0 to claim his 22nd Grand Slam men’s singles title and his 14th record-extending French Open victory. Nadal, 36, became the oldest French Open men’s singles champion.
What do you make of this stunt by the protestor?