A rare and unexpected incident disrupted proceedings at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, as a swarm of bees descended upon the courts, causing play to be suspended.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz’s quarter-final match against Alexander Zverev was abruptly halted when the bees launched an unexpected attack. Video footage captured the insects swarming over a camera lens and buzzing around the players, prompting chair umpire Mohamed ‘Mo’ Lahyani to announce the suspension of play.
And the end of the day the headline of this match was-“Carlos Alcaraz conquers a Bee Invasion and Zverev in a 6-3, 6-1 victory in the quarterfinals at Indian Wells!”
Game, Set and Bee for today.
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“Play has been suspended due to bee invasion,” announced the tournament on social media, accompanied by a bee emoji. The disruption led to a light-hearted moment as spectators chuckled at the unexpected turn of events.
Alcaraz. “It was strange. I’ve never seen something like that in a tennis match. We laughed a lot about Mo’s words ‘bee invasion‘. It will be remembered”.
Carlos Alcaraz, in the midst of the match, was seen swatting away the bees in confusion before the pause in play was officially announced. The Tennis Channel humorously remarked, “Advantage, bees,” acknowledging the unforeseen challenge faced by the players.
Efforts to address the bee invasion included the use of a vacuum hose to safely remove the insects from the court. Despite the interruption, the BNP Paribas Open continues to showcase high-stakes tennis action as it progresses through the quarterfinals stage at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden
