The first round match at the Miami Open experienced an unexpected delay when an iguana calmly wandered onto the court.
The prestigious Masters 1000 tournament, taking place in Florida, was underway when this peculiar incident occurred.
Elena-Gabriela Ruse and Polina Kudermetova were competing in their first-round match on Court 7 when the unusual spectator made its appearance.
The match, which was in its decisive third set, was briefly halted as the iguana explored the court.
Just two points into the third set, the iguana meandered across the court lines and onto the playing area.
Both tennis players had to pause the game while a worker carefully guided the reptile away from the court using an umbrella.
Given that iguanas are common in Florida, the crowd remained calm and unfazed by the interruption.
Once the iguana was safely off the court, the match quickly resumed.
Kudermetova had previously won the second set in a tie-break (7-6) after Ruse claimed the first set 6-1.
However, Ruse, demonstrating resilience, came back to win the final set 6-2.
Ruse is now scheduled to compete against 29th seed Magdalena Frech in the second round.
In other matches on the opening day, Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, marked her return to winning form by defeating Yuliia Starodubtseva in three sets: 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Osaka, who recently returned from injury, had described her previous match as her “worst performance ever.”
Emma Raducanu is also set to play later today against wildcard entrant Sayaka Ishii.
British number one Katie Boulter is also scheduled to compete against Peyton Stearns.
In men`s qualifying, British players Jacob Fearnley and Billy Harris both successfully advanced to the main draw.
Harris will face Eliot Spizzirri, an American wildcard, while Fearnley is set to play against Benjamin Bonzi of France.
Jack Draper, the recent Indian Wells champion, received a bye for the first round and will play against the winner of the match between Roberto Bautista Agut and Jakub Mensik in his first game.
