For the second day running temperatures in Melbourne peaked at above 38 degrees. For the players on court at Melbourne Park the mercury was closer to 69 degrees, with conditions for both players and fans approaching unbearable.
Each year the extreme heat that occurs during the year’s first grand slam raises the question of why the tournament doesn’t close the roofs on the three main courts – Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and Hisense Arena – when the temperatures are so high.
The answer lies in what is known as the ‘wet bulb temperature’, which is essentially a measure of the humidity in the air as well as the temperature. The Australian Open’s extreme heat policy comes into play at 40 degrees; however, the wet bulb temperature must concurrently reach at least 32.5 degrees for the policy to be activated. Over the last two days this hasn’t been the case.
Being so early in the year, the Australian Open is a difficult tournament for the players, most of whom are just beginning their seasons for the new year after a rest period. This means that many players are not at peak fitness for the tournament.
Couple that with the fact that the extreme conditions in Melbourne in January are rarely experienced elsewhere on tour and it leads to the scenario we saw in Thursday’s Novak Djokovic vs Gael Monfils match. Monfils has had fitness and injury issues in the past, but he looked out on his feet on Thursday, often giving up on points and games. In the circumstances, who can blame him?
There’s an argument that part of being a professional tennis player means being fit enough to handle long, gruelling matches in whatever weather conditions happen to occur – after all, tennis is a summer sport. This is largely why players are unable to take a medical time-out to be treated for cramps, as this is seen as a lack of conditioning rather than a medical issue.
(AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Being fit enough to handle the rigours of a grand slam is often what sets players apart – it’s why we admire the exploits of players like Rafael Nadal so much – but expecting even the most professional of players to perform at their peak in such extreme conditions is bordering on ludicrous.
At 69 degrees players risk suffering heatstroke, exhaustion or other medical conditions. One has to ask whether players would bother playing if this wasn’t a grand slam – indeed Monfils said after his loss to Djokovic that he kept playing mostly so that he wasn’t penalised by the ATP for tanking. We can only hope it doesn’t take a serious heat-related injury for the policy to be reviewed.
Some players have called for the tournament to be moved from its January schedule. This isn’t a desirable option given how crowded the tennis calendar already is and given the logistics required for players to travel to Australia from the Northern Hemisphere during the season.
Tennis is a summer sport, and unfortunately summer in Australia is often more extreme than in Europe and the US, where the majority of tournaments are played.
The players enjoy coming to play in the ‘Happy Slam’, as it is colloquially known, but its reputation as a player-friendly tournament may be compromised if the tournament’s extreme heat policy continues in its current form. It also does a disservice to the fans, who may be robbed of high-quality tennis when players are unable to perform at their optimum.
The tournament should review its extreme heat policy for next year and enact it when the temperature is 38 degrees or above regardless of the humidity. After all, 38 degrees is still extremely hot.
This is already a recurring issue – it comes up every summer without fail – and now is the time to address it for the safety of all concerned.
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