Tennis is a sport where you get silenced by a whole group of people for talking during a point. So you can probably imagine how loudly the country classic “Cotton-Eye Joe” was received during a Top 5 match.
The rude but hilarious interruption came during a semi-final match between No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek and No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula at the Canadian Open on Saturday. During a crucial point when Pegula was leading 4-3 in the tiebreak of the second set and scoring three points after an upset, Pegula tried to net a lob over Swiatek.
As the ball came down, the racy lyrics “If it would be for Cotton-Eye Joe” blared through Montreal’s IGA Stadium, causing a stir among the crowd. The point was immediately cut short as the cameras caught Pegula in disbelief.
The point was repeated but the bizarre moment turned into a turning point in the match as Swiatek won 12 straight points, securing not only the tie break but also the first two games of the third set. Fortunately, Pegula recovered from there and caused a surprise with a 6:2, 6:7(4), 6:4 win.
She laughed about the moment after the game.
Pegula meets the winner of a semifinal match between Elena Rybakina and Liudmila Samsonova on Sunday.
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