Will US Open Pause 2025 Semifinals After Tornado Warning in New York? Everything to Know About Arthur Ashe Roof

The 2025 US Open women’s singles has faced a major setback. Strong winds disrupted the semifinal battle between Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula at Arthur Ashe Stadium. And that forced the roof shut, turning the match into an indoor affair. But has the weather put a pause on the US Open semifinals? 

Well, not really! The New York Times journalist Christopher Clarey took to X and stated, “Roof closed in Ashe for these #USOpen women’s semis. No rain yet. Lots of wind. Definitely a boon to the big flat hitters, which tonight would mean…..everyone.” And the games continued indoors. Despite being a power player with a spin, going up against a clean, compact, flat striker, Sabalenka was the one to claim the win with a scoreline of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. She now proceeds to the final match with a 50% chance of winning her fourth Grand Slam singles title. 

But if you’re still focused on the tornado alarm, it’s not going to affect the Arthur Ashe Stadium in any major way. The meteorological department has warned the localities in Buffalo, Cheektowaga, Niagara Falls, West Seneca, North Tonawanda, Clarence, Lockport, Lackawanna, Batavia, and Kenmore. At 9:57 am EDT, a severe thunderstorm was located in Erie Basin Marina. And it was moving at 40 mph North-East. Another warning claimed that it might develop into a tornado after the storm picked up speed. The authorities further asked the citizens to stay indoors. 

But it’s worth noting that such storms often weaken by the time they reach New York City. There were instances in 2010 and 2012 when a tornado hit parts of Queens. But these were weak EF1 and EF0 tornadoes, which caused minimal damage. However, if we’re concerned with hurricane-force winds, the Arthur Ashe Stadium is engineered to withstand that force. On top of that, it can even withstand an EF0-EF1 tornado with a wind speed of up to 110 mph. 

Needless to say, before 2012 (prior to the roof installation), the matches witnessed a significant delay. The men’s finals were delayed for five consecutive years from 2008 to 2012. Following the installation of the retractable roof, things became a lot smoother. But even then, there were instances where the storms troubled the tennis matches. 

Let’s take a look at the recent history when the events had to be paused because of bad weather in Queens. And yes, we’re talking about Hurricane Ida. 

The 2021 hurricane forced the matches to stop despite the retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium

It was indeed one of the rarest and most unfortunate scenarios in the world of tennis. While the roof at the Louis Armstrong Stadium can withstand direct rain, its accompaniment with high-speed winds was the problem. Visuals of water entering sideways into the stadium went viral on the internet, as Diego Schwartzman and Kevin Anderson competed against each other at the 2021 US Open. Of course, the match was postponed to a later date. 

Meanwhile, Anhelina Kalinina vs. Angelique Kerber also faced a setback because of Hurricane Ida. The stars made it past the weather and entered the stadium for their match. However, returning home was almost an impossible task. And they had to spend the night at the stadium’s gym. So, what went wrong during Hurricane Ida? Wasn’t the retractable roof engineered to withstand hurricane winds? 

The US Open roof operator, Mark Sharamitaro, during an interview with Popular Mechanics, revealed, “I’m worried about unexpected storms because of the wind. It is not because of the wind and the structure, but because the wind pushes water places where I won’t want water. That is pretty much my overall concern, that something abnormal would get into the system.” 

Coming back as the 2025 US Open stays unbothered by the drizzle of rain, why don’t you visit the EssentiallySports Live Blog for more updates?