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Sprinkler snafu results in on-court mayhem at Wimbledon
A match had to be moved at Wimbledon after a freak sprinkler malfunction. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
Artem Sitak and Laura Siegemund were getting some rest between games during a mixed doubles match at Wimbledon. Then the water hit them.
Chaos briefly reigned at Court 15 of the All England Club on Friday when a sprinkler malfunction resulted in a strong stream of water shooting near Sitak and Siegemund's seats.
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As spectators guffawed, a staffer was able to halt the stream by stepping on the sprinkler.
With the water seemingly halted, the chair umpire politely signaled for the crowd to quiet down. Because the court was apparently operating by slapstick comedy laws at the time, the sprinkler immediately broke free again and gave Sitak and Siegemund a second dousing.
Per the Evening Express , all the water on the court forced the match to be moved to neighboring Court 16.
Sitak and Siegemund probably weren't pleased, but they also didn't seem too rattled, as they went on to beat Ken Skupski and Darija Jurak by a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
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After the match, Skupski gave his own recap of the incident to the UK's Press Association:
"The sprinkler head behind the umpire's chair just popped up. You hear it, it's an unusual sound, and then 100 gallons of water just started nailing them.
"Fortunately the water was spraying on the other side. I've seen clips on YouTube of it happening at tournaments but not at Wimbledon, so that was unexpected.
"And to move courts and start straight away in a bit of a different environment, that was a bit unusual, but at least we might make it onto the TV tonight."
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