Right: Australian Open tournament director, Craig Tiley: 'It's important to note that the player feedback has ranged from players who wanted to stop play because of the heat to many players who did not want play to stop at all.'
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Arguments suggesting the Australian Open does not offer sufficient safeguards against hot weather
1. The weather conditions at the Australian Open could endanger the health of players, officials and spectators
It has been suggested that playing tennis in extreme temperatures can cause significant distress and may endanger their health.
After the first round of the 2014 Australian Open a record number of players (nine) withdrew from the competition. Although most of the players cited injuries, the Dutch player Robin Haase went out with cramp, which is often set off by extreme heat. The total is the highest in one round at the Australian Open. There were other players who, though they did not withdraw, appeared to have been heat-affected during their matches.
China's Peng Shuai, vomited and cramped up during her first-round loss to Kurumi Nara of Japan. Canadian player, Frank Dancevic, was unconsciousness for a minute during his loss to Benoit Paire. He has claimed that conditions were dangerous for the players. He noted that the heat caused him to hallucinate: He stated, 'I was dizzy from the middle of the first set and then I saw Snoopy and I thought, "Wow Snoopy, that's weird."'
British Wimbledon champion, Andy Murray, has also warned about the conditions. Andy Murray has stated, 'You've just got to be very careful... There's been some issues in other sports with, you know, players having heart attacks.'
Some critics have also claimed that the high number of injury-related withdrawals may well be at least partially attributable to the effects of the heat. Mr Dancevic has suggested that it is easier for players to suffer injuries when affected by the heat. He has claimed, 'I think when you're running around on court quite dizzy, you're more prone to getting injured also...For sure, it can make players have injuries.'
The heat has also caused distress to non-players. One ball-boy fainted and a ball-girl was treated for heat stress. It also poses risks for spectators. By January 17, 2014, (four days into the competition) 970 spectators had been treated for heat-related illnesses. The seats with no shade on the outer courts were virtually empty, with spectators congregating instead under trees on the sides of courts or in the upper reaches of stands where temporary covers provided some relief. Many spectators appear to have given up on the championship altogether. Total attendance was just 53,226 on the Thursday, down from Monday's high of 63,595.
Melbourne is a city with an established high risk of heat-related deaths. A new report on Australian cities has estimated that Melbourne had the highest annual average number of heat-related deaths. Periods of excessive heat in January have been tentatively linked to fatalities. During 2009's January heatwave, there were 374 more deaths across Victoria than would be expected for the week when comparing data over five years. It has been suggested that in these circumstances it is irresponsible to lure spectators out into the heat.
2. Playing in extreme heat reduces the quality of the game and diminishes the spectators' enjoyment
It has been claimed that playing tennis during extremely hot weather adversely affects the quality of the game that players can produce and thus reduces the entertainment for spectators.
Dominic Bliss in a comment published in bet.unibet.com on January 17, 2014, noted, 'At 42 degrees and above, the sport ceases to be tennis and morphs into some epic test of physical endurance instead. And that's not good for the sport. As spectators, we want to see dynamic shots, balletic court coverage and crafty tactics.
We don't want to watch players hiding under umbrellas, wrapping themselves in ice jackets, boiling like lobsters and ultimately passing out.'
This position was also put by Tariq Engineer in an open piece published in firstpost.sport on January 16, 2014. Engineer stated, '[E]xtreme conditions only contribute to lowering the level of the contest because it changes the balance between skill and endurance. A player worrying about whether he or she might live or die (or suffer injury) is not going to produce his or her best tennis. And that, along with retirements, cheats the fans, the organisers and the players of a good spectacle... more attention should be payed to what produces a good tournament beyond finishing matches on schedule.'
A number of players have described the effect that the heat had on their game. Russian player Elna Vesnina has stated, 'Impossible to play in this heat. It's only about surviving. Forget about beauty of the tennis.'
Many players have indicated that their priority becomes to get out of the heat. British player Andy Murray noted, 'In these conditions you want to win fast. Whether I've played a lot of matches or not, every player would want to get off the court as quick as possible.' Similarly, German Angelique Kerber said that her main aim had been 'to get off the court before it became really hot.'
Professor Clyde Williams, a sports scientist at Loughborough University, who has worked in Melbourne, has commented on some of the ways heat affects players. The professor has stated, 'Towards the end of five-set matches, players' reaction times may slow by up to a quarter of a second. Your judgement will go, to a certain extent.'
American player Varvara Lepchenko noted the impact the heat had on her game. Lepchenko stated, 'I couldn't focus and on my returns I couldn't see the ball. Towards the middle of the second set I started feeling more and more dizzy. I felt like time was going so fast. I needed more time in between points and started feeling really hot on top of my head. Then I completely lost it.'
3. The heat protection guidelines are unclear
There have been complaints about a lack of clarity and undue discretion in the application of the 'extreme heat policy' used at the Australian Open.
The extreme heat policy is an arbitrary measure based on the wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT). The wet bulb globe temperature takes into account the actual temperature as well as radiation, wind, and humidity. If the conditions are considered extreme, officials have the discretion to suspend play at the completion of the set. All other scheduled matches will be delayed until conditions improve. Matches on Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena would continue under a closed roof.
A WBGT of 26 prompts ice vests to be despatched to all courts, and at 31.6 all women's singles matches get a 10-minute break between the second and third sets. However, there is no break in the men's matches, and no set WBGT that triggers the 'extreme heat policy', which sees all matches on uncovered courts halted at the end of the set in play and roofs brought across on the two main show courts. This final stage in protecting players from the heat is implemented at the discretion of the referee and championship doctor.
The lack of clarity has been criticised by Chris Kermode, the head of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Kermode has stated, 'Clear messaging is paramount. We need to make sure that players are very clear when they step out onto the court about what temperature means the roof goes on or a game is stopped.'
A number of players have expressed a similar desire for definite, publicly known guidelines. Maria Sharapova has stated, 'I think the question I have is no one really knows what the limit is. Not the players; the trainers themselves, when you ask them when will the roof be closed?
No one actually knows what that number is in comparison to humidity or the actual heat.'
Sharapova further stated, 'Sometimes you wish you know, because it just depends on I'm not sure who, a referee or the meteorologist, and there are just a lot of questions in the air that maybe should be solved.'
A similar complaint was made by France's Alize Cornet who has suggested that the apparent inconsistencies in the application of the extreme heat policy make the decisions taken seem capricious. Cornet has remarked, 'On Tuesday I wonder why they didn't stop play. It was like an oven. The wind was scorching, and some people fainted...
Why [stop play] today [Thursday] and not on Tuesday? The conditions are similar; it's maybe one degree more. It looks like their decision is made a bit on the fly, and that's a pity.'
4. Officials have displayed an insensitive attitude to the difficulties faced by players
Numerous sports commentators have accused the officials administering the extreme heat policy at the Australian Open of demonstrating relative indifference to the comfort and wellbeing of the players.
On January 17, 2014, The New York Times published an opinion piece by Greg Bishop. Bishop argues that the tournament officials appeared largely to want to ignore the controversy surrounding the heat in the first days of the championship with a business-as-usual attitude that nothing extreme or concerning was occurring.
Greg Bishop has written, 'The tournament chose the nothing-to-see-here approach, and the longer that went on, the more absurd it seemed, amid the sea of red faces and collapsed bodies and heads balancing ice packs the way a model would a book.'
Bishop was critical of the attitude adopted by the Australian Open officials that there was nothing to be concerned about because players' lives were not at risk. Rather, he argued, officials should have been concerned because many players were facing unusual physical distress and discomfort.
Greg Bishop stated, 'This is professional tennis, not modern warfare or indentured servitude. Humanity should be a baseline consideration.'
On January 16, 2014, Jon Wertheim, writing for Sports Illustrated, commented, 'As devastating as the heat has been, the reaction of the sport's officials has been comparably brutal. Double-speak. Vagueness. An absence of commonsense. This was tennis - fractious and fractured - at its worst.'
Wertheim went on, 'We got our first indication on Monday, when the tournament referee and the tournament doctor sat in a press conference and projected a strange indifference to the weather forecast and the resulting conditions.'
On January 16, 2014, Chad Walters, writing for LeanBlitz, commented similarly, 'It's bad enough that the Australian Open is scheduled to be played at the peak of the summer season in Melbourne ... but officials at the Australian Open were reluctant to institute measures right away that would protect the players.'
Walters concluded, 'This is an example of leaders not listening to the serious complaints from those who are forced to suffer from the decisions made by those leaders.'
5. There are many other heat-protective measures that could be applied and currently are not
Over the course of the current Australian Open a range of suggestions have been made as to how player distress in the heat could be reduced.
Russian player Maria Sharapova has proposed that change-over periods could be lengthened. Sharapova has suggested officials should give players more time between points than the usual 20 seconds. Sharapova stated, 'You're trying to get as much rest in between points as you can, but then you have an umpire who is giving you a time violation. Then you're asking yourself whether that's fair... in these conditions, let it go. I think it should be [extended] for the safety of the players, definitely.'
The distinction currently made between men's and women's matches played in the heat has also been challenged. A wet bulb globe temperature of 31.6 means that women's singles matches get a 10-minute break between the second and third sets. This is not given the men. Critics claim that this is unfair, particularly given that men's games run for five sets where women's are three. Andy Murray has stated, 'I don't know why there's the different rules for the heat. If there's a medical reason for it, then I'm fine with it, if there isn't, I'm not fine with it. That's it.'
It has also been suggested that the temperature at which outside games are suspended and games on the centre courts have the roof closed should be lowered. In addition to this, if games on outside courts are called off, they could be held at night under lights.
It has further been proposed that the rule requiring a set be completed before a halt is called to play should be reviewed. Maria Sharapova has suggested that because there is no tiebreaker in the final set then it should be possible to call a temporary halt during these sets. Sharapova has stated, 'I think in the third set for the women and the fifth set for the men, if you know that there is no tiebreaker, officials can't just rely on maybe the set will go fast and the set will be over and we will be off court.'
Dr Ross Tucker, exercise physiologist and sports consultant, has recommended that there should be more breaks and that they be shorter. Dr Tucker has proposed, 'For instance, why not allow a three minute change-over every time new balls are called for? Or after every six games, designed to allow a break at approximately half-way through a set? This is slightly longer than the current change after odd-games, and would allow slightly more effective cooling, more often. A five minute break after each set would also help, with 10 minutes before the final set (set 3 for women, set 5 for men).'
Dr Tucker has further suggested that fans [devices directing air not supporters]be placed at the back of the court. 'Fans on the players during changeovers is...an obvious strategy, especially if the player is going to wet themselves with water and apply ice. It would accelerate cooling and help reduce the thermal strain, and wouldn't affect the match either.'
Finally it has been suggested that the date of the Australian Open should be changed so that it is no longer held during one of the hottest periods in the Melbourne calendar. Adam Julian, in an analysis published in The Roar on January 17, 2014, noted, 'Moving the dates of the tournament isn't without historical precedence. The 1920 tournament was played in March.'