WATCH: Gunfire and army tanks stop play in ATP Challenger Tour event

The Brazzaville ATP Challenger Tour event was halted due to a civil-war like situation.

Just when one feels they have seen it all, tennis comes up with a historic first. The 2025 Brazzaville Challenger, the second edition of the competition, is a professional tennis event played on clay courts. Part of the 2025 ATP Challenger Tour, the tournament was scheduled to take place in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo from February 17-23.

However, never seen like before visuals surfaced from the event during a match between Ivan Denisov and Guy Den Ouden. The authorities were forced to suspend play for 10 minutes, due to gunshots heard from a road exactly adjacent to the court.

One can only imagine how challenging it must have been for the players, striving to improve their ATP rankings while competing amidst the turmoil of civil unrest-like situation. Questions must be raised over the decision to play the event under such circumstances.

💥🔫 Riots and shootings just meters from a Challenger Tour match in Brazville, Congo Republic ??? pic.twitter.com/Y7nw9n3DTw

— Tennis Masterr (@tennismasterr) February 18, 2025

Brazzaville, situated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is currently rife with growing political unrest. Rebel groups in DR Congo itself and neighboring Rwanda have fomented violent demonstrations that have spilled into the streets of DR Congo. The situation has become worse since January, and therefore the decision to conduct a tennis event in such a dangerous location makes little sense.

Cameras capturing the match recorded people gathering on a nearby street before loud gunshots rang out, followed by screams. Scarier scenes followed, as army tanks rolled out on the streets of Congo, which was caught by the cameras covering the tennis match.

They brought in heavy artillery 👀 pic.twitter.com/esQXg1Rc7Y

— Tennis Masterr (@tennismasterr) February 18, 2025

The caos created in Congo forced the ATP challenger cell to give an explanation. In their statement, they remarked that the noise was caused as a result of a nearby police academy engaging in mock drills, denying any involvement of a riot taking place.

We can confirm that play was temporarily suspended today at the Brazzaville Challenger in the Republic of Congo due to a routine training exercise conducted by a nearby police academy.The suspension lasted approximately 10 minutes, after which play resumed without issue.… pic.twitter.com/qiXkGQb7SQ

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) February 18, 2025

The tour’s statements though, failed to justify the visuals which tennis fans saw earlier. People were screaming, tear gas was being used, and heavy gun firing took place. Den Ouden, who was involved in this contest had earlier alleged that his phone was robbed, further highlighting the security concerns at the venue.

Eventually, play resumed and World Number 270 Ouden defeated Denisov comfortably 6-1 6-3.

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