Extremely Venomous Eastern Brown Snake Shuts Down Play at Australian Tournament – Slithers onto Court Near Ballkids During Match

An extremely venonous eastern brown snake slithered onto the court during the Brisbane International tournament on Saturday shutting down play.

The eastern brown snake often referred to as the common brown snake, is a species of extremely venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to eastern and central Australia and southern New Guinea.

The tennis match had to be shut down when the snake crawled out on the court near the ballkids.

You cannot make this up: a 50cm eastern brown snake — considered the second most venomous snake in the world — interrupted the Thiem-McCabe qualifying battle in Brisbane

(video via Lblklk on Reddit) pic.twitter.com/QI5izBr6HN

— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) December 30, 2023

The New York Post reported:

Former U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem had a brush with one of Australia’s most venomous snakes during a qualifying match at the Brisbane International on Saturday.

The former world No.3 was a set down to 20-year-old Australian James McCabe in a first round qualifying match when fans courtside spotted the snake.

Security personnel quickly arrived, but the umpire had to stop play as the snake slithered on to the court to the shock of the players and fans.

“I really love animals, especially exotic ones,” Thiem said. “But they said it was a really poisonous snake and it was close to the ballkids, so it was a really dangerous situation.

“It’s something that has never happened to me and is something I’ll definitely never forget.”