The 2025 National Bank Open in Montreal brought an unexpected challenge off the court for professional tennis players. Multiple WTA stars including Naomi Osaka, Taylor Townsend, and Belinda Bencic, found themselves dealing with disruptive fire alarms at their hotel accommodation during the tournament week.
The incident became particularly notable as it was the second fire alarm disruption in just one week, affecting the players’ rest and preparation during one of the most important hard court events.
The National Bank Open, which runs through Aug. 7, sees Montreal hosting the women’s WTA 1000 event while Toronto hosts the men’s ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Second Fire Alarm Incident Affecting Naomi Osaka, Taylor Townsend and Belinda Bencic
The fire alarm problems weren’t a one-time occurrence. Days later, another incident struck, this time affecting multiple players simultaneously. Townsend, the newly crowned WTA World No. 1 in doubles, shared her frustration on Instagram as alarms blared in her hotel room for hours.
Townsend posted a video showing herself exhausted, with the alarm sound clearly audible in the background.
“Bro this has been going since 4:30am… I’m blowed 🤯,” Townsend said.
The American player had been on a streak, having just won the Washington Open doubles title and carrying momentum into Montreal where she reached the quarterfinals.
Taylor Townsend’s Instagram story
Bencic also found herself caught in the fire alarm chaos. The Swiss player, who was competing in Montreal during the same week, shared her own Instagram story at 4:56 a.m.
“I dont think I would smile if Bella was here this week,” Bencic said.
Her frustration was evident as she dealt with the sleep disruption during tournament play.
Belinda Bencic’s Instagram story
Most significantly, Bencic’s Instagram story revealed the broader context of the problem. She posted at 4:35 a.m. with the text “2nd Fire Alarm in a week” and included a location tag showing “Montreal, Quebec.”
This confirmed that the tennis players were dealing with repeated false alarms at their Montreal accommodation, creating an ongoing problem during the tournament week.
Belinda Bencic’s Instagram story
The Shocking Fire Alarm Incident That Shook Tennis Players
The first major incident occurred in the early hours before Osaka’s opening match against Canadian wild card Ariana Arseneault. The four-time Grand Slam champion was forced to evacuate her hotel around midnight when fire alarms sounded throughout the building.
Osaka documented the experience on her Instagram story, sharing a photo of fire trucks outside her hotel. Her caption captured the surreal nature of the situation.
“POV: it’s the night before your match and the fire alarm tells you to evacuate so you grab your passport and go down 12 flights of stairs lol,” Osaka said.
Naomi Osaka’s Instagram story
The incident occurred just hours before what would be her first match in Montreal since 2018, making the timing particularly challenging.
Osaka’s Instagram stories after the second incident captured her real-time reaction to the Montreal fire alarm chaos. At 4:40 a.m., she posted from the hallway, baffled by a second false alarm, and soon followed with “A jokeeeeee” to show her growing frustration.
Moments turned to exhaustion as she waited for updates, blending confusion with humor in her candid selfie stories.
Naomi Osaka and the WTA can’t get sleep in Montreal cause of false fire alarms pic.twitter.com/qK9au8505J
— Barstool Tennis (@StoolTennis) August 2, 2025
As the incident continued, Osaka shared a shot from a lounge area at 4:54 a.m.
“We’re just hanging out at this point,” Osaka said.
Relief finally came at 5:20 a.m.
“Finally stopped, fingers crossed 🙌🏽,” Osaka wrote, showing hope after a sleepless ordeal.
Osaka’s Instagram story
The repeated fire alarms at the players’ Montreal hotel served as an unexpected and exhausting distraction for several of the world’s top tennis stars. Osaka, Townsend, and Bencic managed to take it in stride and even shared moments of humor and camaraderie online.
Osaka’s Instagram story after the alarm stopped
These incidents are a reminder of the challenges and unpredictability that athletes can face off the court.
AloJapan.com