“Would you desire a competitor to perish on the arena?”
That was the inquiry posed by Holger Rune to an official while receiving medical attention from a physician and physiotherapist amidst intensely challenging environmental factors at the Shanghai Masters competition.
With temperatures peaking around 34 degrees Celsius and humidity hovering at 80% during daylight hours at the close of an extended sports season, athletes are experiencing significant physical strain.
Circumstances bear resemblance approximately 500 miles westward at the Wuhan Open event, where Emma Raducanu withdrew from her initial round confrontation on Tuesday citing lightheadedness. On the preceding Monday, contests on peripheral courts were suspended, and the retractable roof on the central court was deployed.
Following her withdrawal stemming from sickness during a contest against Sorana Cirstea on Tuesday, Jelena Ostapenko, a previous victor at the French Open, conveyed experiencing “heat-related health problems.”
Iga Swiatek secured a decisive 6-1 6-1 triumph over Marie Bouzkova; however, the world’s second-ranked player expressed gratefulness for not being scheduled on Monday when the intense heat was deemed “excessive for many participants.”
“I trust future matches will be arranged such that women can effectively participate instead of merely collapsing on the court,” Swiatek remarked.
Returning to Shanghai, Rune underwent blood pressure assessment and received an ice compress around his upper body after feeling unwell during his third-round victory against Ugo Humbert on the preceding Sunday.
Novak Djokovic characterized the conditions in his strenuous third-round conquest as “brutal,” Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard described experiencing feelings akin to “near-death on the court” attributed to elevated humidity, and Jannik Sinner faced mobility challenges due to severe muscle cramping during his Sunday evening contest.
Terence Atmane, who conceded his initial round contest on Thursday, communicated via social media that the intense heat intensified his on-court distress.
“Subsequent to the initial point, both my hands manifested tremors,” the French athlete detailed.
“Following the second game and a seemingly advantageous 2-0 lead, I promptly discerned my entire physique convulsing and encountered breathing difficulties following each exchange.”
“The thermal stress experienced today could have resulted in more critical consequences compared to an hour of unconsciousness coupled with an accelerated heartbeat…”
While receiving medical attention on Sunday, Rune questioned the absence of a thermal regulation within the men’s professional tennis organization.
“That is indeed an important question,” came the reply.
Rune from Denmark revisited this discussion on Tuesday after emerging victorious in a three-set showdown against Mpetshi Perricard during the fourth round.
The eleventh-ranked player globally proposed that “every competitor would concur” regarding the necessity for introducing such a provision.
“We possess the capacity to manage a certain level of elevated temperatures given our physical and mental fortitude; nevertheless, there exist inevitable constraints.
“Safeguarding well-being remains paramount. We require the capacity to endure.”
