INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff eased into the the semifinals at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday, dodging the bee invasion that suspended play on Stadium Court for almost two hours.
Playing in the second match on Stadium Court, Swiatek advanced to her third straight Indian Wells final four after Caroline Wozniacki retired with a right foot injury at 6-4, 1-0. The World No.1 rallied from 4-1 down to win the last six games of the match.
Iga Swiatek was well into her cooldown routine in the locker room when Carlos Alcaraz walked onto Stadium Court for his quarterfinal. Two games into the match, a swarm of bees descended on the court and chair umpire Mohammed Lahyani was forced to halt play.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Lahyani announced, “play is suspended due to bee invasion.”
Iga Swiatek was in the middle of her postmatch press conference when she noticed the reporters all staring at the television screens behind her.
“I’m glad I’m not there anymore,” Swiatek said. “That’s crazy. There was nothing like 30 minutes ago. I would run away. … I would get, like, so many time violations.”
While the crowd on Stadium Court patiently waited for the tournament’s beekeeper to arrive, Gauff was out on Stadium 2 trying to end Yuan Yue’s nine-match win streak. The newly turned 20-year-old did just that, winning 6-4, 6-3 to make her first Indian Wells semifinal.
Iga Gauff didn’t find out about the situation until after the match.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” Gauff told reporters. “Did Alcaraz actually get stung?
“I saw the video of him trying to run away. I said he wasn’t fast enough. He’s a fast guy on the court, but I think he was trying to ask for clarification on what was going on. I would have [taken the] time violation, just leave.
“That’s just one of those things that I just — you can’t defeat the bees.”
