PARIS — A large sheet of metal paneling detached from a scoreboard in strong winds and crashed onto center court spectators below at the French Open on Tuesday, slightly injuring one person and causing a quarterfinal to be suspended for about 40 minutes.
The 3-meter long paneling, which was protecting the scoreboard from bird droppings, hit a barrier and a piece of equipment on its way down — slowing its fall before tumbling onto packed rows of spectators midway through the match between Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kei Nishikori.
"Three people were taken to the infirmary on site, but it turned out that two of them had nothing wrong," tournament director Gilbert Ysern told a news conference.