Protester interrupts Ruud-Cilic French Open semifinal

Casper Ruud returns a volley at the French Open. Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Protester interrupts Casper Ruud-Marin Cilic French Open semifinal

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Jun 3, 2022 5:45 PM ET

The men's semifinal stage of the 2022 French Open will unfortunately largely be remembered for reasons that have little to do with highlight-reel shots and back-and-forth action.

In Friday's first semifinal, Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev produced a spectacular show for those in attendance and fans watching at home until Zverev was forced to retire after he suffered a nasty-looking ankle injury during the match's second set.

Casper Ruud and Marin Cilic later met on Court Philippe-Chatrier but, per Dan Quarrell of Eurosport and Karolos Grohmann of Reuters, had their match interrupted in the third set when a protester shockingly tied herself to the net.

A protester has attached herself to the net at the French Open pic.twitter.com/jSUFDGFhsz
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) June 3, 2022

The woman was wearing a shirt sporting a message that read "we have 1028 days left" and used what appeared to be a string to attach herself to the net via her neck.

Some protester just tied herself to the net during the French Open semis.

(via @yampapii) pic.twitter.com/qTf2h8f8Ci
— Overtime (@overtime) June 3, 2022

The meaning of the message wasn't immediately known, but Jenna Lemoncelli of the New York Post reports that a website allegedly on the protester's shirt cites her concern about "climate inaction."

"We have 1028 days left" says the line on protestor's shirt and there is a website link which is already updated with what the protest is abouthttps://t.co/lMQLTFW6eQ #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/IRTbYVffKf
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) June 3, 2022

Grohmann notes that play was delayed for 15 minutes with Ruud leading 3-6, 6-4, 4-1 before both players were taken off the court for their safety. Ruud quickly reclaimed his form when play resumed and went on to notch a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Close, @CasperRuud98 ❤️ #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/uQuWhMWKF4
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 3, 2022

"He's a perfect example of how you should behave on court: Never give up and never complain. He's been my idol for all my life," Ruud said of Nadal after his win, according to The Associated Press (h/t ESPN). "I guess this is perfect timing and worth the wait to finally play him in a Grand Slam final."

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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