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German tennis pro Alexander Zverev stepped in during the middle of his match at the Halle Open on Wednesday to help a fan who had been struck by a falling advertising board that apparently came loose during the match.
The incident took place during the first set of Zverev’s match against American Marcos Giron.
Tournament organizers released a statement following the incident explaining that a 62-year-old woman sitting in the lower tier of the grass court stadium had been struck when an advertising board from above came loose and fell on top of her.
Zverev and umpire Renaud Lichtenstein ran over to check on the woman, and the No. 3-ranked tennis pro handed the woman an ice pack, which organizers said she applied to her neck.
She did not sustain any serious injuries and was later taken to a hospital.
“There has never been anything like this in our 32-year tournament history. We deeply regret the incident,” tournament director Ralf Weber said in a statement.
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Two of the event managers, Udo Kleine and Uwe Greipel-Dominik, said that the board had likely fallen after screws holding it in place had come loose because of “drumming against the boards.” The boards were subsequently checked, and the match continued.
The woman was also given a free pass to the tournament next year, according to organizers.
Despite the incident, Zverev continued on to defeat Giron in straight sets.
On Saturday morning, he advanced to the quarterfinal round, where he took the first set over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli.
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