"Cotton Eye Joe" randomly interrupts Canadian pro tennis tournament

The song “Cotton Eye Joe” may have been around for hundreds of years, but it’s probably never thrown a pair of professional tennis players off their game before.

During the semifinal of the women’s singles draw of the 2023 National Bank Open on Saturday afternoon in Montreal, American tennis player Jessica Pegula was facing off against Polish star Iga Świątek for a chance to play on Sunday’s final.

And with Pegula up a set and up 4-3 in a possible decisive second-set tiebreak, Cotton Eye Joe began suddenly blasting from the speakers at Montreal’s IGA Stadium.

no way 'Cotton Eye Joe' comes on mid-point pic.twitter.com/iCYf3hwnPG

— Ryan (@Some1NamedRyan) August 12, 2023

“Oh wow. ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ just came on, mid-rally,” Tennis Channel commentator Mark Knowles remarked.

All we can say is, well, “Oof.”

Pegula ended up losing the tiebreak 7-4 but won the third set 6-4 to advance to the final.

“I was like, is this really happening right now? Of all the songs? It was just like, what is going on?” Pegula said after the match.

Fans of Pegula’s have made light of the incident following her win, even making up fan cams of the moment.

New fancam
Jessica Pegula – Cotton Eye Joe pic.twitter.com/DzrPK9FaIC

— Owen (@kostekcanu) August 13, 2023

Intriguingly, the Rednex version of the song — far and away the most commonly heard recording these days — actually came out exactly 28 years ago from the moment, dropping on August 12, 1995.

While the momentary lapse threw Pegula and Świątek for a loop, it probably doesn’t quite pale in comparison to the physical rigours the other eventual finalist will face.

Due to the rain in Montreal late on Saturday, Elena Rybakina and Liudmila Samsonova’s other semifinal match has been delayed until Sunday, meaning they’ll have to play two matches on Sunday to win the 2023 National Bank Open crown.

In the men’s singles drawback in Toronto, Australian Alex de Minaur faces off against Italian Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s final.

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