Tennis fans have reacted to climate protestors interrupting the US Open semi-final clash between Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova, causing the match to be temporarily suspended.

Sixth seed Gauff and tenth seed Muchova were playing each other for a spot in the final of the New York major when the interruption occurred. Gauff had taken the first set 6-4 and was leading 1-0 in the second when three climate activists in the crowd stood up and began chanting "End fossil fuels!"

While the first two protestors were removed from the venue fairly quickly, the third had glued his bare feet to the floor which caused a long delay of 49 minutes. As a result, the players returned to the locker room and had to warm up again once they were finally back on court.

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Fans react with outrage to disruption

The crowd at Flushing Meadows made their feelings about the disruption clear as Arthur Ashe was filled with boos and angry cries.

This sentiment has been widely echoed by fans on social media, with some calling for the protestors to be banned from tennis tournaments.

"They should be blacklisted and banned from all tennis tournaments. Ridiculous," wrote one fan on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Thank God they’re standing up to the real villain standing in the way of making progress on climate change, Coco Gauff," added another sarcastically.

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Meanwhile, another fan explained that while the cause for which the protestors were advocating was a very important one, they did not see how this type of protest would be effective.

"I’m a big fan of climate change advocacy, but this type of protest just p*sses people off. The kind that informs is much more likely to be effective. We are beyond the point where just calling attention to the issue is enough. We need to be informative," they commented.

After the delay, Gauff emerged victorious from the match in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5. She will face Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final.

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Replying to @molly_mcelwee

They should be blacklisted and banned from all tennis tournaments. Ridiculous.

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