Manual scoreboards, falling panels and bleachers: More rain in Shanghai forces less-than-ideal indoor conditions

The highest-ranked ATP players in the world might be winding down their seasons in Shanghai this week, but they returned to their humble beginnings on Monday when playing conditions were vastly adjusted after two days of near-nonstop rain.

Resembling junior tournament conditions moreso than a Masters 1000 event, a handful of singles matches were moved to indoor tennis club courts that didn't provide pro-tennis luxuries that top players are normally accustomed to. Limited bleacher seating only accentuated the walls that enclosed the other three sides of the courts on which seeded players Alexander Bublik, Karen Khachanov, Jordan Thompson and Lorenzo Musetti all competed.

Although it could be argued that the blue and white of the venue resembled the sky and its clouds, that took some serious imagination to pull off. If anything, the blue and white contrast against the green and indigo courts only highlighted the limited playing space.

Manual scoreboards were also on display as part of the indoor adjustment.

While it wasn't the usual tower with old tennis balls to mark the score, or the all-too familiar flip cards, it did showcase some ingenuity: Player names were printed on placards in font that resembled Times New Roman.

Further still? A famous bird once shouted, “The sky is falling," and that statement was apparently not so far-fetched in Shanghai either.

During Musetti and David Goffin's second-round affair, one X, formerly Twitter user, in attendance even reported that a ceiling panel fell to the court.

While those four seeds were all defeated, seeded players thrived on Stadium Court: Taylor Fritz, Grigor Dimitrov and Frances Tiafoe all earned their way into the third round on the only roofed court that permitted play.