Coco Gauff found herself navigating the bustling streets of Madrid on foot following her fourth-round victory at the 2025 Madrid Open. Gauff was caught in a massive citywide traffic jam triggered by a rare and extensive power outage.
After spending nearly two hours stuck in a barely moving car, the World No. 4 and her team made the bold decision to abandon their vehicle and walk the rest of the way to their hotel.
Coco Gauff Narrowly Missed Chaos As Power Outage Hit Madrid After Her 4R Match
In a short video posted to her Instagram Stories on Monday, Gauff gave her followers a glimpse of the ordeal. She was seen strolling down Madrid’s streets, casually documenting the unusual scene. Captioning the clip with good humor, she wrote:
“Traffic lights don’t work lol we got out the car after hour and 45 mins slowly moving and just walked to the hotel.”
The chaos unfolded on Monday, Apr. 28, when a widespread power failure swept across Spain and even hit neighboring regions like Portugal and parts of France. The blackout caused major disruptions throughout Madrid, with traffic lights failing and roads descending into gridlock.
The outage didn’t spare the Madrid Open either, throwing matches into disarray at the iconic Caja Mágica. Scoreboards went blank, and the electronic line-calling system shut down, forcing several matches to be suspended midway.
Despite the turmoil, Gauff had just enough luck to wrap up her Round of 16 match against Belinda Bencic before the power went out.
The American had been giving her on-court interview after her 6-4, 6-2 win when the venue suddenly lost power, cutting her microphone mid-sentence and leaving her visibly confused.
Coco Gauff Will Take On Mirra Andreeva in the Madrid QF
Gauff is currently competing in her fifth edition of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid. As the fourth seed, she received a bye in the opening round and had to overcome Dayana Yastremska in a tight three-set battle to advance to round three. From there, she found her rhythm, dispatching fellow American Ann Li and Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic in straight sets to secure her first-ever quarterfinal appearance at the Madrid Open.
Up next, she faces seventh seed Mirra Andreeva on Apr. 29 in what will be their third head-to-head clash on the WTA Tour. Gauff leads their rivalry 2-0, with their most recent meeting coming in the second round of the 2023 US Open, where she won in straight sets.
In doubles, Gauff has also made a strong run alongside partner Robin Montgomery. The American duo has reached the quarterfinals and is set to face Victoria Azarenka and Ashlyn Krueger next.
