- A swarm of bees engulfed the umpire’s seat on the first day
- This led to delays in starting the match
- A beekeeper came in to diffuse the situation
On the opening day of the WTA 1000 tournament in Guadalajara Open, a swarm of bees engulfed the umpire’s seat forcing a delay of the match.
A beekeeper was immediately dispatched to remove them and allowed Petra Kvitova and Bernarda Pera to start their match 90 minutes later.
By the time the match was called off, there were no players on the court leaving fans confused. A few moments later, photos of a swarm of bees resting on the umpire’s chair went viral.
Visibly confused fans were bewildered as they finally understood what was behind the match’s delay. The swarm of bees took over a portion of the umpire’s chair in the less than two hours that elapsed between the conclusion of the day session and the anticipated start of the night session.
Guadalajara Open delay due to a swarm of bees. Photo by Daily Express
Guadalajara Open officials tweeted a photo of the bees swarming the umpire’s chair. Former tennis player Melanie South also tweeted explaining to fans why there was a delay into staring of the match.
Pera and Kvitova finally hit the court 90 minutes after their scheduled start time, with the 16th seed (Kvitova) winning 6-3, 7-5. The Czech star acknowledged after the game that the long wait to enter the court had an impact on her performance, but she was still able to recover and win in straight sets.
Speaking post-match, she said that she was off to a slow start after the late beginning of the match but picked up her pace. She added that she has never seen such in her 20 years of professional tennis.
“We were waiting a little bit longer than we thought so I started a little bit slowly then I came back to it and started to play better,” Kvitova said. “I’ve never experienced this and I’m on the tour 20 years already I think.”
The Guadalajara Open, a 1000-point event has the highest rank attainable on the WTA Tour. It is in its first year of operation as a competition.
Mexican city of Guadalajara hosted the WTA Finals, which concluded the season, last year. The event left such an impression on the competitors that it was chosen to host the prestigious competition starting in 2022.
There are five spots at the WTA Finals still up for grabs depending on how players perform this week. The final regular tournament on the WTA calendar this season is more thrilling than ever.
Currently, only Iga Swiatek, Ons Jabeur, and Jessica Pegula have earned spots in the famous top-eight tournament. Coco Gauff is one match win away from doing the same.
Iga Swiatek won’t make it to Billie Jean Cup Finals. Photo by InsidetheGamez
Guadalajara Open is one of the WTA tennis circuit. They consist of many competitions held all year long in various locations in Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, Latin America, and Australia.
The amount of prize money and the number of points given for world ranking are the differences between each. The latter is established by the number shown in the tournament category.
It is one of the following: WTA 125, WTA 250, WTA 500, and WTA 1000. The higher the number, the more prestigious and lucrative the prize money is.
Only eight of the WTA 1000 Tournaments are presently held worldwide, making it the most significant event on the tour after the four Grand Slams.
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