Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Tennis players in the Australian Open have been getting hot under the collar with organisers as they have been forced to play in soaring temperatures. Blistering temperatures that reached 110 degrees Fahrenheit meant the first suspension of play since 2009.
Players are protected by an Extreme Heat Policy (EHP) that was introduced in 1998 after consultation with a number of players. Unfortunately it is not as simple as looking at a temperature gauge as the EHP is based upon the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) which takes into account humidity and radiation.
The decision to suspend play is at the discretion of the umpire although this would only occur at the end of a completed set. Crucially, if the match is being played on a court with a roof, play can continue with the roof closed.
Intriguingly, prior to the introduction of the EHP, the 1993 final was played in temperatures reaching 104 degrees. The roof was to be closed until Jim Courier threatened to boycott the match unless it remained open!
Maria Sharapova was forced to continue playing her match at the Rod Laver Arena. Unfortunately for her she had started the third and final set, which carries no tie-break. After a gruelling final set which she eventually won 10-8, Sharapova had been on court for 3.5 hours.
She was not the worst affected. That has to be Canadian, Frank Dancevic, who hallucinated that he was joined by the cartoon character, Snoopy, before blacking out, while China’s Peng Shuai vomited.
It’s not the hottest town for top-level professional sport – that has to be Phoenix in the US where summer temperatures regularly exceed 110 degrees. The Arizona Diamondbacks have the solution with their stadium that has a special roof that allows enough sunlight through to allow for matches to continue in natural light (and for the grass to grow), working in conjunction with an air conditioning system that drops the temperatures for players and fans by 30 degrees.
I mention this due to the furore concerning Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup in 2022 with many now believing that the tournament will be rescheduled for the winter.
Clearly a change has to occur in tennis to prevent players from competing in conditions that lead to hallucinations and vomiting. However, the solutions clearly exist with other sports happy to continue. Qatar is offering a combination of all while it is also investing heavily in new innovations that will make the conditions even more manageable.
Another argument, of course, against the Qatar host status is the conditions for the fans. With matches due to be played in the evening in Qatar, conditions may even be better than those experienced in the regions mentioned above, yet you hear few complaints elsewhere!
