KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. -- Police briefly stopped vehicle and foot traffic in the immediate area outside the Sony Open tennis tournament Tuesday night because of an unattended backpack left near the main gate. Authorities then found the bag did not present any safety risk.
Det. Roy Rutland of the Miami-Dade Police Department said personnel working at the tournament discovered the bag. Rutland said the department's bomb squad responded "to mitigate the potential threat," and traffic was allowed to resume flowing.
Players on-site at the time were made aware of the situation.
"There was a bomb threat and a lockdown but that's all I know about it," women's No. 1 seed Serena Williams said shortly after the situation ended. "Scary."
The investigation was announced during a match between Williams and Angelique Kerber, which proceeded as scheduled. Hundreds of people were trying to leave the facility after that match and were stopped at the gate before being allowed to eventually walk out of the tennis center.
A men's match between Rafael Nadal and Fabio Fognini began shortly after police gave the all-clear. Nadal and Fognini were warming up when police announced that the situation had been resolved.