Tennis always has its own ways of surprising fans. Even those who have been playing or following the game for years can be stunned in various manners. For instance, Novak Djokovic losing a crucial point against Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals was something that many viewers were taken aback by. Similarly, an incident from the recently concluded Canadian Open semi-finals between Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula has amazed viewers to no end.
Over the years, we have seen several cases of rallies being stopped due to unforeseen interruptions. However, in most of these cases, the interruptions are owing to internal factors such as incorrect line calls or erroneous judgments. But in this case, the point was interrupted due to a bizarre external factor, which led to some crazy reactions from fans all over social media.
Twitterati reacts to a bizarre interruption in Iga Swiatek vs Jessica Pegula match
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The unexpected incident took place during the crucial second-set tie-break. An intense moment of play was on – Iga Swiatek was trying her hardest to turn the tide in her favor while Jessica Pegula was battling to sustain her lead. However, the rally abruptly stopped midway as Rednex’s popular song ‘Cotton Eye Joe‘ was accidentally played over the loudspeakers. The players had to replay the point and fans were shocked, as most of them had never witnessed anything like this before.
no way 'Cotton Eye Joe' comes on mid-point pic.twitter.com/iCYf3hwnPG
— Ryan (@Some1NamedRyan) August 12, 2023
Tennis fans took to Twitter to reveal their amusement at the whole incident. They believed that it was one of the most weird on-court incidents of all time.
This has to be top 10 weirdest things to ever happen in a tennis match
— Joseph Drambarean (@jdrambarean) August 13, 2023
Most fans also believed that it was one of the most hilarious incidents on the court. Many could not control their laughter.
I’m actually dying over this 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
— AJ (@ayejayy86) August 12, 2023
Pegula’s reaction when the music was played amused another fan immensely. She looked entirely confused.
Pegula's face 🤣🤣 this is such a hilarious moment. https://t.co/XCQYzHwTkX
— ☁️☀️☁️ ²⁴ (@SaphireTennis) August 12, 2023
One fan went overboard and suggested that the employee responsible should face consequences for the blunder. Given the timing, it could have had a major impact on the result of the match.
That is horrible timing. The person responsible should be fired. I am happy that Iga stole the set, but the outcomes of matches should not be determined by such freak events. https://t.co/JsLBE9UOMQ
— Sports, art, politics and culture (@sangeetapremi) August 12, 2023
There were fans who kept watching the clip on the loop.
Lost count of how many times I’ve watched this now 😭
— Vansh (@vanshv2k) August 12, 2023
“They can?t play through a little music?“, questioned a fan who believed that the rally could have continued when the music was on.
They can’t play through a little music?
— BrockinSB (@HiuraFan) August 13, 2023
A user suggested that Pegula should be upset since she was more likely to win the point.
Jess should be upset cause that was her point
— ▕⃝⃤ Gia 🎾 (@Giacn11) August 12, 2023
Serena Williams‘ ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, also joined in with her reaction and laughed at the situation.
😂😂😂😂 also who has that on their play list! Like 😂😳😳 @JPegula ur reaction 😂 https://t.co/iG5kxF8Eci
— Rennae Stubbs 🇦🇺👍🏼 (@rennaestubbs) August 12, 2023
After the match, Pegula herself joined the herd and dropped her own reaction to the video.
Jessica Pegula reacts to the interruption
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If Pegula’s on-court reaction wasn’t enough, the American reacted on Twitter as well. Following her monumental victory in the semi-final, the World No. 4 took to Twitter to express her thoughts. She said, “I mean what the ?“, while quoting the original video that was doing rounds on Twitter. It was one of those moments where even the players cannot resist joining the crowd and sharing their own thoughts on the incident.
I mean what the 😂 https://t.co/EWtqqwauLQ
— Jessie Pegula (@JPegula) August 12, 2023
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What was your reaction to Cotton Eye Joe interrupting the rally? Do let us know in the comments.
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