US Open matches delayed over broadcast center fire alarm

Fire alarms have interfered with a lot of sports broadcasts over the years. However, it’s more unusual for them to interfere with the game as well. That’s what happened with tennis’ US Open Monday, though, where a fire alarm in the broadcast center prompted an evacuation and also impacted the electronic line calling (ELC) system, leading to a delay for the tournament’s matches. Here’s how that later showed up in a statement on US Open broadcaster ESPN:

USTA explanation for the 5 minute delay earlier in matches at the #USOpen pic.twitter.com/lTjDd1mgzq

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 2, 2024

This is far from the first notable fire alarm impact on broadcasts, something seen from NCAA baseball through the ManningCast through Toronto Blue Jays’ radio broadcasts through The Golazo Show. But it’s a little more unusual to see that also affect the on-court/field action. That makes sense with the way tennis now uses ELC setups, though, and how tied into the broadcasts and broadcast center that system is. And that led to this delay Monday.

The US Open will continue to be broadcast on ESPN networks through Sept. 8. And the event is sticking with ESPN networks through 2037 under a deal announced last week. Hopefully there won’t be a lot of further fire alarms during that span.

[CJ Fogler on X/Twitter; image from ESPN Press Room]