Major Power Outage Disrupts Madrid Open, Affects Spain, Portugal, France

A major power outage affected Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France, causing widespread disruption, including chaos at the Madrid Open tennis tournament. The blackout halted play just over an hour into the day's matches, disabling electronic systems like the line-calling technology and leaving venues in darkness, which forced spectators to use phone flashlights to exit safely. The outage also froze broadcast equipment, such as the spider cam, and interrupted on-court interviews, leaving many matches suspended and players in limbo. While some players, like Coco Gauff, managed to complete their matches before the disruption, others were forced to stop mid-play. The cause of the outage is under investigation, with reports citing grid faults and speculation about a possible cyberattack, though no official confirmation has been provided. The incident caused broader travel and infrastructure problems in the affected regions, impacting airports, train services, and city traffic due to failing IT systems and traffic lights.