34 degrees, 80 percent humidity – the tennis stars suffer from the stressful conditions at the tournaments in China. There is harsh criticism of ATP and WTA, the organizers of the tennis tour, and calls for the introduction of a uniform, binding “heat rule“.
With his win against Jaume Munar at the ATP Masters in Shanghai, Novak Djokovic has added another to his long list of records: The 38-year-old is now the oldest player in history to reach a quarter-final at a Masters tournament.
The organizers would certainly have liked to discuss Djokovic’s next milestone during the obligatory winner’s interview on the pitch. But the Serb said goodbye straight after the match as quickly as possible, just out of the stadium sauna and into the air-conditioned catacombs. Djokovic then reported on social media and spoke of a “tough day at the office“. The match is “Physically a real challenge” been.
Djokovic on conditions in Shanghai: “It’s brutal”
This also had to do with the strong Spaniard. But above all, it was the humid heat in Shanghai, with humidity of 80 percent, that pushed the “Djoker” to its limits. After Munar had converted the set point to make it 7:5 in the second round, Djokovic remained completely exhausted behind the baseline. Then he dragged himself to the chair and had a doctor check him out.
It was by no means the first time that Djokovic took a medical break at the exact moment when a match was not going in his favor. But this time there was little doubt that he was really struggling with the oppressive temperatures, as he had done in the previous round in his hard-fought win against Yannick Hanfmann. Djokovic was lucky that he was only allowed onto the court in the early evening, as he himself noted: “It’s brutal. Especially for the boys who play during the day, in the sun, it’s even more brutal for them.”
Rune to officials: “Do you want a player to die?”
At Holger Rune’s match it was a hot and humid 34 degrees in the stadium. The Dane also took a break from medical treatment and asked a nearby official: “Do you want a player to die on the pitch?”
Rune’s opponent in the round of 16, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, also said it felt like he was dying because of the high humidity. Frenchman Terence Atmane reported severe heat symptoms in an Instagram post after his first round match in Shanghai. After the first two service games, his whole body was shaking and he could no longer breathe.
The humid heat in Asia, where the tennis tour is stopping off to end the season towards winter, is also an issue for the women who are playing their tournament at the same time in Wuhan, China – under similarly challenging conditions as in Shanghai, around 800 kilometers away.
Emma Raducanu had to withdraw from her first round match due to circulatory problems. Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko didn’t even compete after she said she suffered heat stroke in Wuhan.
There was also harsh criticism from Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek. The heat was unbearable, Swiatek told the newspaper BBC. She called for the matches to be scheduled at times “We can actually play to them instead of dropping dead on the pitch”.
The organizers in Wuhan have now reacted. On the particularly hot Monday, some games were suspended and were only played in the covered stadium. This was also possible because there is a so-called “heat rule” on the WTA tour: a binding, established protocol, similar to Grand Slam-Tournaments that measure heat stress using various factors such as solar radiation, humidity or wind strength. Once a certain limit is reached, game interruptions of ten minutes or even games are postponed.
No “heat rule” on the ATP men’s tour
Unlike the women, there are currently no binding heat rules on the men’s tour or in the ATP tournaments. The decision as to whether it is possible to play lies individually with the local ATP representative. In coordination with the medical team and the organizers, who of course also want to have a say in the game scheduling. According to the current regulations, there should be no heat break before a decisive set.
In response to a BBC inquiry, the ATP said it would take additional measures and set up an official “heat policy“to evaluate and take into consideration. The health of the players is the top priority, the ATP said.
For Holger Rune, who is further into the tournament in Shanghai, the limit has been crossed. “We have to be able to survive out there.” When asked why there hasn’t already been a “heat rule” on the men’s tour, he simply replied: “That’s a good question.“