J.Annik Sinner tried everything, but after baking for two and a half hours in the suffocating sauna of the Shanghai court of the stadium, he was completed. Even around midnight, the humidity was still so repressive that the sinner spent the last 20 minutes of his Match in the third round against Tallon Grixpur Convulsions, panting with significant pain. In the end, he could not even walk properly. In the middle of the final set, the 24-year-old slowly climbed to a chair, using his racket as a crutch and stopped the match.
These scenes were representatives of Shanghai masters, since over the past week so many players have been bored in cruel conditions. Terens Atman and Hamad Medzhedovich both retired after the fight against heat. Francisco came the hallway, appeared close to destruction, and he had to help in the middle of the match his opponent Lorenzo Masetti. Despite the advantage of the competition at night, Novak Djokovic has been torn off repeatedly In two consistent matches, and in his fourth round there were times victory over Jaume Munar, where he also looked as if he had reached his limit.
Five hundred miles in Jun, the weather also challenged the best players. Emma Radukan and Elena Ostapenko both retired in hot, moist conditions. Along with the video on social networks, which showed that she was pulled out of her socks, Bianca Andreesku wrote: “Uganskaya weather really said:“ Go play tennis in the sauna. ”
As if amazing were these scenes, it is hardly an unknown territory. Each year, players are pushing their limits in sports, which is pursued by the Sun. Nevertheless, tennis could not ensure the safety of players, the fight against the danger of competition in such extreme conditions.
The most direct and most vivid problem was illustrated by Holger rune during his medical time at the weekend. Speaking with Jerry Armstrong, one of the ATP leaders in Shanghai, the rune asked: “Why does ATP have no heat rule? Do you want the player to die on the site? “
While the large helmet and WTA tournaments have an extreme heat policy, ATP still does not. ATP trusts managers in coordination with their medical personnel to manage players in suffocating conditions. Thus, Armstrong's answer to the rune was even more damned: “I don’t know, this is a good question,” he said.
In his statement, ATP representative said: “According to the ATF rules, decisions regarding the suspension of the game due to weather conditions, including extreme heat, lie with the head of ATP on the spot, in coordination with medical groups on the spot and local authorities. In parallel, the ATP medical service team introduces several measures in cases of extreme heat to provide the player’s defense during competition.
“This remains in active examination, and additional measures, including the implementation of the official thermal policy, are currently evaluated in consultation with players, tournaments and medical experts. The safety of players remains the main priority for ATP.
In well -controlled sports, the standardized policy of extreme heat in all tournaments would have been for a long time. TennisNevertheless, he is awkwardly split between four large helmet tournaments, ATP, WTA and ITF organizations that are often too focused on protecting their own interests.
In August, players also fought in hot and wet conditions for two weeks at Cincinnati Open before the tournament ended The sinner went against Carlos Alcaras in the final From the disease. Global heating will only lead to further difficulties, so the governing bodies should already investigate how to adapt the calendar in order to avoid these unbearable conditions.
This is a complex subject, taking into account physical training, and endurance is a key part of superiority in the upper part of the sports. Elite players are proud that they can cope with the elements and still find the way. Everyone, however, has a limit.
“I think that there should be any rule,” Rune told on Tuesday. “We can cope with a certain amount of heat, because we are in good shape, we are strong, we are also mentally strong, but there is always the limit. I think it is also important to take care of your health. We must survive. “
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There are smaller changes that should be taken into account. Returning to Cincinnati, when the heat caused damage to the tournament, Iga Swiatek said that she would like to see great flexibility with a time limit between points on warm days: “Such heat is what we just need to survive, and this does not look like that we cannot,” she said. “Maybe he will give us another five seconds to use a towel or have more time to breathe, because it would be a little more complicated, it would be nice.”
This last production management of extreme heat occurs at the end of the other exhausting, long season and well -being of players, has become a significant conversation.
The amount of retirement, removal of funds and injury this year was shocking. With a family retirement or passing in Shanghai masters over the past week this year, there were 41 pensions and passages in the ATP Masters 1000 sections.
Last Monday at China Open in Beijing, a combined event WTA 1000 and ATP 500, five out of 12 matches ended in retirement. This does not even explain the injuries, physical pain and mental tension, which many players in both rounds continue to pass. It is increasingly difficult to say that the tours have made enough to prioritize in the welfare of players.
The duration of the tennis season has been a significant point of conversation for decades with minimal changes, but recent initiatives from ATP and WTA tours seemed to only emphasized these problems.
Over the past two years, WTA has adopted more stringent planning management elements for its best players, and there is a growing consensus that the ATP-controlled impetus for expanding so many ATP and WTA 1000 events for extensive two-week affairs became at the expense of the players themselves. With even more days in tournaments and more time away from the house, their growing physical and mental difficulties are clear.
In recent weeks of another campaign, when injuries accumulate, and few competitors seem satisfied, it seems that the tour reaches an limit. However, it is still unclear if the governing bodies are ready to recognize these problems and take significant steps to correct them.
