AUSTRALIAN OPEN FORCED TO CHANGE SCHEDULE DUE TO EXTREME HEAT
Due to the intense heat, which is predicted to reach 42 °C in Melbourne on Tuesday, the Australian Open has changed its schedule for the second time in four days.
While play on the outdoor courts, where the juvenile matches are being held, has been brought forward to 09:00 local time (22:00 GMT), the wheelchair competitions, which will feature British defending champions Alfie Hewett, Gordon Reid, and Andy Lapthorne, will begin on Wednesday.
Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena, both of which have retractable roofs and air conditioning systems that enable play to continue in cooler conditions, will host the four singles quarterfinals, which feature world number ones Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka, as well as several doubles matches.
Whether the roofs would be closed at the start of the day's play has not been disclosed by the tournament organisers.
A severe heat warning has been issued for the entire state of Victoria by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Play on the outdoor courts was paused for five hours on Saturday, while action on the exhibition courts continued indoors as temperatures rose to 40C and the heat scale reached its maximum of five. Four parameters are measured by the scale: wind speed, relative humidity, air temperature in the shade, and radiant heat, or the intensity of the sun.
Lapthorne has drawn attention to the extra physical difficulties faced by wheelchair athletes, even though all players are impacted by the temperature variations.
"There are players within our category that can't sweat if they've got a spinal cord injury," the 35-year-old defending quad wheelchair men's doubles champion stated on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra. "They don't have the ability to cool down, so it can be quite dangerous if they're in really extreme heat."
"I've had [cramp] in my forearms before because we're pushing a wheelchair as well as hitting the ball, and once that gets hold of you, it can be very difficult to stop."
Not every player will benefit from playing under a cover, even though the event administrators have been proactive in adapting to the weather by changing timetables and offering a variety of facilities to help fans cool down.
"Who suffers the most, do you know? the younger athletes. Russell Fuller, a tennis writer for BBC Sport, told the Australian Open Daily podcast, "They are attempting to play two junior matches at 09:00 before returning at 18:30 and hoping it will cool down."
"It will still be boiling for those on at 9:00. Under those circumstances, it is difficult for the juniors. Some of them are 15 or 16 years old.
The third covered exhibition court at Melbourne Park, John Cain Arena, is not expected to be in operation on Tuesday. Among those affected by the heat on Saturday was men's second seed Jannik Sinner, who acknowledged that he "got lucky with the heat rule" when he defeated world number 85 Eliot Spizzirri in four sets in the third round.
When the scale reached its maximum, the umpire had to stop play because the Italian defending champion, who had lost the first set, was having cramps and a breakdown in the third. Sinner fled the court during the eight-minute break while Rod Laver Arena's roof was closed. When play restarted, he quickly recovered and went on to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. During the fourth set, the temperature beneath the roof fell to roughly 26 °C.
Hollie Smart, a junior from Britain, was also competing on Saturday. She had to withdraw from her first-round match against Azuna Ichioka of Japan in the third set due to a cramp, and she sobbed as she left the court. The weather on Tuesday will have an impact on the other side of the draw in the men's and women's singles.