What is all the buzz about: A swarm of bees suspends ITF match in India as players and fans forced to evacuate

Rain, blisteringly hot conditions, medical timeouts - these are all common ways for tennis matches to be paused or suspended. This was not the case during a match in the ITF Bengaluru Open where a swarm of honey bees forced the players and spectators to flee the surroundings and duck for cover as the insects took over proceedings for a short space of time.

It was a round-of-16 clash between the top seed Talia Gibson and Sahaja Yamalapalli. The danger was first noticed by the umpire when he warned the players of the incoming threat, urging them to depart the court. The spectators soon followed in suit as the bees came charging in, wanting a piece of the action.

The tournament is being hosted within the Cubbon Park, located in the southern state of Karnataka. It was also the location of where India recently picked up a famous Davis Cup qualifiers win over the Netherlands in a huge upset result. The only upset on display that day were the fans who tried to avoid the bees. The park has over 8,000 ‌trees spread across nearly 200 ​acres. Video clips show the swarm flying around the stadium, causing a scene.

After around 20 minutes, the match was back playing again. Gibson had no problem adjusting back to competition surroundings, taking down her opponent 6-0, 6-0 in less than an hour to secure a solid day out.

Back in 2024, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev played against each other in the Indian Wells Open where they encountered a similar issue. The players and fans immediately had to take cover as thousands of the bees came descending down onto the stadium.

In an attempt to avert the bees away from the stadium, the spider cam was lofted high into the air while the hapless Alcaraz was attempting to deflect the bees away with his racket as they started to fly around him. “For sure, the most unusual match I have ever played in my career," Alcaraz commented after the match. “I thought it was just a few of them. But I saw the sky and there were thousands flying, stuck in my hair, going for me. I tried to stay away from them but it was impossible. I’m a little bit afraid of them. I was running everywhere.”

The issue was resolved and both players returned from the suspension to compete with just nine minutes of the match having been played. It all went the way of the Spaniard who defeated Zverev 6-3, 6-1 in a crushing performance to put him into the semi-finals of the tournament he would eventually win.