Adventurous Cat Hilariously Interrupts Miami Open Match: ‘That I Have Not Seen Before’

A lively cat made its mark on a tennis match between Venus Williams and Diana Shnaider as it scurried onto the court, causing a brief interruption at the Miami Open on Tuesday.

Williams was about to serve in the second set when the feline made the surprise appearance, making its way behind a Rolex clock and past the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

“Let’s replay the point. There is a cat crossing the court,” the umpire said.

The announcement led to smiles and laughs from tennis fans in the crowd as the cat avoided broadcast cameras before eventually turning a corner past a digital sign.

Tennis Channel commentator Brett Haber joked that it’d be “Armageddon” if tennis star Victoria Azarenka’s dog got a hold of the cat.

Fellow commentator and tennis legend Martina Navratilova also couldn’t get enough of the cat, calling it cute as the critter paused the tournament action.

“That I have not seen before,” said Navratilova before the two commentators talked about iguanas and squirrels interrupting matches.

“Catch the cat, give it a good home, cute cat.”

The feline disruption arrives less than a week after bees caused a nearly two-hour delay during a quarterfinal match between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev at the BNP Paribas Open.

Cats have interrupted several tennis outings before including one match between Caroline Wozniacki and Carina Witthöft at the 2018 Qatar Total Open, between Daria Saville and Kristýna Plíšková during the 2017 Kremlin Cup in Moscow as well as one between Roberta Vinci and Çağla Büyükakçay in 2016.

Check out clips from those interruptions, compiled by the Women’s Tennis Association, below.