It threw a wrinkle into the players

During the long lull before the men’s final of the U.S. Open for tennis began, John McEnroe was talking about how the final was delayed because of the increased security and the closing of the dome because of rain. He said: “It threw a wrinkle into the players.” This is a mashup of “add a new wrinkle” (to bring or contribute a new unexpected aspect) and “throw a monkey wrench into the works” (an unforseen event or action that sabotages a plan). Because of the rain, he might have been thinking of wrinkly tennis players and speaking literally of wrinkles into the players. Or perhaps he was thinking of the reason for the increased security. A shout out to Barry Eigen for hearing this one and sending it in!