Call it the Bee-NP Paribas Open.
The quarterfinal match between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev was suspended early in the first set due to a swarm of bees that descended on the Stadium 1 court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The delay lasted 1 hour and 48 minutes.
After play resumed, Alcaraz won 6-3, 6-1 in a match that lasted 1 hour and 29 minutes or less than the bee delay.
The score was 1-1 in the first set and Alcaraz was seen jumping around and swatting them away after he was stung in the forehead following a point. Quickly the two players and the ballkids started running toward the exits. Fans, as well could be seen shooing them away.
The spider cam (the floating camera that moves around the court in the air) was completely covered by them.
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An announcement was made by the umpire that the match was suspended due to "bee invasion."
The crowd remained in their seats and was not asked to leave the stadium. After nearly an hour, a beekeeper arrived and they moved the spider cam with the swarm on it to a specific area in the stadium. Two small sections of the upper deck were asked to move.
Organizers 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. almost an hour into the delay, a beekeeper named Lance Davis from Killer Bee Live Removal in Palm Desert arrived with a large vacuum contraption and started sucking 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 player's area. Around 4:40 p.m., the players returned to the court. So, too 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 "There Goes My Hero" by Foo Fighters played over the loudspeaker.
According to a statement released by tournament organizers: "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. 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."
More: Carlos Alcaraz advancesCarlos Alcaraz swarms Alexander Zverev for win after bees halt play at Indian Wells
Iga Swiatek, the world's No. 1 women's player was doing a news conference after her quarterfinal win, when news of the bee swarm on Stadium 1 was just breaking.
"I'm glad I'm not there anymore. That's crazy. There was nothing like 30 minutes ago. I would run away. Okay," she said. "That's pretty dangerous, you know. Well, they should (pause the match). I wouldn't be there already. (And then adding with a laugh) I would get, like, so many time violations."
Tommy Paul, who won his semifinal match and was in a press conference during the delay, said he's never seen anything quite like that. But he did remember a different incident of unwanted guests on the court.
"This is pretty wild. I was in the locker room right after finishing my cool down, and I'm hearing them talk about bringing the beekeeper to the site. Just never heard of that. It's definitely crazy," he said. "Yeah, I mean, I think in Miami there was — I don't know if there was a delay — but there was the iguanas that came on the court. I don't think anyone left the court for that reason."
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