Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
BEES!!!!
Imagine, if you will, taking some time on a spring Thursday afternoon to watch some high-level tennis. The BNP Paribas Open — most commonly known as the Indian Wells Open — is upon us and some of the world’s best tennis players are in the field. On the men’s side you have Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev in the field. Over on the women’s side Iga Światek, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Ons Jabeur are playing at Indian Wells.
Now, imagine settling into your seat to watch Alcaraz square off against sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev, only to find a group of unexpected visitors delay the match.
A swarm of bees.
The match was level 1-1 in the first set, with Alcaraz on serve. That is when one of the world’s best tennis players was suddenly swatting at something other than a tennis ball:
The swarm of bees forced the chair umpire to suspend the match, and the tennis world to look for a new hero.
They found one, in Lance Davis.
Davis, the owner of “Killer Bee Live Removal,” swung into action, vacuuming the bees out of the Spider-Cam that was above the court. Davis told ATPTour.com that he had been at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for the past five days removing swarms.
He was actually off-site on Thursday, but sprung into action immediately after receiving the emergency call.
“I brought all my equipment up and then they were on the spider cam, so they just swung the spider cam over. I had my equipment set up and I vacuumed up the bees into a live-catch cage,” Davis said to ATPTour.com. “Then I can take them out… and release them into one of my hives that I have. They’re set up just for this type of thing.
“This time of year is swarming season, so they go everywhere. And I’m just happy to be there for them so they could not have any incidents.”
Here is another look at the swarm:
Play eventually resumed and Alcaraz — who according to his manager was stung on the forehead during the initial swarm — won in straight sets.
After which, Alcaraz paid tribute to the true hero of the day:
