In a fun experiment by the organizers of the Indian Wells Open, some of the top ATP and WTA stars were seen in a hilarious prank at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The players were seen placed at various places as members of the tournament’s staff.
From the men’s side, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev , Alex de Minaur, and Holger Rune participated. Medvedev was seen working on the billing counter. Rublev donned the clothes of a security guard and frisked the spectators entering the premises.
As for Rune, he assisted the fans in a shop while de Minaur pretended to be one of the guys assisting in parking. On the women’s side, Ons Jabeur and Maria Sakkari were the ones participating. The Greek was offering popcorn to the spectators. Meanwhile, the Tunisian stood near the gate offering the site’s map.
The interactions couldn’t get any funnier between the fans and the players. One person asked for a selfie with Medvedev claiming he looked like his ‘brother-in-law’. A couple of ladies wrongly identified Rublev as Italian sensation Jannik Sinner.
Another spectator questioned Medvedev if he was ‘Medvedev’s brother’ claiming he resembled the former US Open champ. The Russian had his fun with him in a funny conversation but didn’t reveal his true identity.
One lady nearly identified Rublev but he straight-up denied it and said he didn’t like the player. Jabeur was however identified by multiple people. She kindly obliged for selfies with them as her identity was revealed. Eventually, Sakkari and de Minaur were also identified as fans asked for selfies and the players quickly posed for them.
Only three players of the Indian Wells ‘staff’ make the quarter-finals
While the players had their fun off the court, the on-court action continued. The tournament is moving into its final leg as the quarter-finalists are getting confirmed. Jabeur crashed out in the second round after having received a bye in the first round.
Sakkari has made her way to the quarter-finals where she will take on 23rd-seeded Emma Navarro. In the fourth round, the American defeated Aryna Sabalenka, last year’s runner-up and the current World No. 2. On the men’s side, Medvedev and Rune will go head-to-head for a place in the semis.
Aussie No. 1 de Minaur was knocked out by Alexander Zverev in the fourth round. The German will now take on defending champ Carlos Alcaraz. Rublev was shot down by Czech youngster Jiri Lehecka who then beat Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the last-8.
More must-reads: