In the Heat of a Tennis Match
Organizers of the 2008 Australian Open, have revised their “heat policy” for the 2008 tournament. The major change from the past policy will be that matches that are already in progress when the extreme conditions are declared will only have to finish the current set and not the entire match, e.g. possibly five sets for a men’s match. At the 2007 Australian Open, Maria Sharapova played on through sweltering conditions in an early
round match while matches were not started on other courts. Top tennis pros should certainly continue to be in excellent shape in order to have success on the Tour. However, if you’ve ever played under the Australian sun in summer Down Under, then you’ll realize that it often goes beyond superior conditioning to simply a dangerous situation for the players. In another change for 2008, the decision to suspend play will be up to the sole discretion of the Australian Open tournament referee. In the past, specific calculations of weather conditions, e.g. court temperature and humidity, were used to determine the specific moment when the extreme heat policy went into effect. This is also a prudent change because there can be other factors such as the amount of wind, sunshine, etc. which can effect the on-court experience for players on a very hot day. In the end, the focus should be on protecting the health and welfare of the players.
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