Bee-NP Paribas Open: Invasion of bees suspend tennis match at Indian Wells
Call it the Bee-NP Paribas Open.
The quarterfinal match between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev was suspended for nearly two hours after a swarm of bees descended on the Stadium 1 court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden during the first set.
Alcaraz was seen jumping around and swatting them away after a point in the first set. Quickly the two players and the ballkids started running toward the exits. Fans could be seen shooing them away, as well.
The spider cam (the floating camera that moves around the court in the air) was completely covered by bees.
An announcement was made by the umpire that the match was suspended due to a ‘bee invasion.’
The crowd remained in their seats and was not asked to leave the stadium. After a beekeeper arrived and they moved the spider cam with the swarm on it to a specific area in the stadium, fans in two small sections of the upper deck were asked to move.
The tournament put the Coco Gauff vs. Yue Yuan match being played on the bee-free Stadium 2 on the big screens in Stadium 1 for fans to watch as they waited out the suspension while ‘they call in a beekeeper’ according to on-court announcer Andrew Krasny said.
At 4:17 p.m. PT, almost an hour into the delay, a beekeeper named Lance Davis from Killer Bee Live Removal in Palm Desert arrive with a large vacuum contraption and was getting the bees off the camera while fans watched and cheered.
During the delay, Zverev was seen kicking the soccer ball around with members of his team in the players’ area. Around 4:40 p.m., the players returned to the court. So did the beekeeper, to a loud applause as he used a spray bottle to get rid of some stray bees that were still on the court.
Davis the beekeeper was moving around the stands spraying more bees and getting high-fives and taking selfies with fans as the song ‘My Hero’ by the Foo Fighters played over the loudspeaker.
‘Davis has worked with the tournament for approximately seven years. He works with the tournament on a year-round basis, as needed, and has been out a few times to this year’s event to help with other beekeeping needs around the grounds,’ tournament organizers said in a statement.
‘He used a vacuum that filters the bees into a live catch cage, a natural and humane way to remove them from the site. This area, at this time of the year, can be a hotspot for bees, with all the flowers blooming and blossoming. In addition, the bees can be attracted to low-frequency sound waves, and music bass, as they feel the vibrations and are attracted to those locations.
‘The tournament is very thankful for his quick response to the situation, and on-going assistance to the BNP Paribas Open.’
The suspension lasted 1 hour, 48 minutes. After play resumed, Alcaraz went on to win 6-3, 6-1.