Metal Piece Falls Into Stands At French Open, Fans Receive Minor Injuries

Photo © Julian Finney/Getty Images.

A metal piece at French Open’s Chatrier fell from the scoreboard hitting fans below.

Metal Piece Falls Into Stands At French Open

The incident happened during the five-set match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kei Nishikori. During a changeover in the match’s second set, a metal piece came flying off the scoreboard, hitting a bannister before finally crashing into the stands filled with fans.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, as only three fans were treated for minor injuries.

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By just looking at the sheer scale of the metal sheet, Roland Garros and the fans should be happy to walk away from the situation. When one sees how hard the metal hits the bannister, then one realizes that it was extremely lucky for the piece to be slowed down before reaching the stands.

Following the incident, Roland Garros officials evacuated the stands around the scoreboard. And following them cleaning and marking the area off, the match commenced after a 40-minute delay.

Tsonga and Nishikori, who went to their respective locker rooms during the delay, came back and finished the match in fantastic fashion. It was decided in five sets — 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 — with Tsonga going to his first Grand Slam semifinal in two years.

Between Roger Federer questioning their security and now a metal piece injuring fans, this has not been a good month for the folks at Roland Garros.