Beating the heat: a necessity, a goal, and a challenge in tennis today

Talking about the weather, perhaps the oldest pastime in the book, is not nearly as interesting as discussing Carlos Alcaraz’s drop shot, Coco Gauff’s serving woe, or the likelihood of Taylor Fritz or Ben Shelton punching through to become the first American men’s Grand Slam singles champion since Andy Roddick over 20 years ago.

But you can bet US Open tournament officials are doing just that, and with some measure of concern. New York is in the midst of its second warmest summer ever, and on track to experience the fourth-hottest year on record. Players, spectators and work crews ought to be aware of the situation as well, along with ways to mitigate for potentially brutal heat and humidity.

Most weather models, including those of the National Weather Service’s climate prediction center, call for temperatures in the coming weeks to be well above normal, with temperatures up to the mid-90s Fahrenheit. We might see a reprisal of 2023, when the heat and humidity over a stretch of days was so taxing that during his quarterfinal clash with Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev turned to a courtside camera and, referring to the promoters, predicted: “One player is gonna die. And they’re gonna see.”

It wasn’t the first time such concerns have been in play. One of the more sobering cases occurred in 2014, when China’s Peng Shuai collapsed on Arthur Ashe Stadium from a heat-related illness and severe cramps that caused her to abandon her semifinal match with Caroline Wozniacki. In recent years, worries arising from extreme heat have multiplied. They have even manifested at Wimbledon, the generally cool and wet tennis capital.

The heat in London this year was so uncomfortable that there was talk of closing the roof on Centre and No. 1 Courts during the day to provide relief and shade. Not everyone bought in.

“I don’t think they should close the roof because it is an outdoor tournament,” defending champion Carlos Alcaraz said. “Battling the heat, the hot, I think is one of the things that we have to do. Yeah, it's really tough to play with that conditions, to be honest. But we are tennis players. I always say, we have to get used to these conditions as soon as possible.”

Apparently, the stiff upper lip isn’t the exclusive property of the British.

But various factors ranging from climate change to the fear of litigation have made dealing with extreme heat a necessity, a goal, and a challenge. A necessity because, well, the show must go on; a goal because it’s in everyone’s interest to avoid tragic outcomes on the playing field; and a challenge because the USTA and other tournament hosts are trying hard to manage the situation while avoiding mandates to suspend play (perhaps for an indeterminate period) when specific environmental conditions are met.

It is also evident that extreme heat can have a damaging effect on players even when, like Medvedev in 2023, they hobble across the finish line. Novak Djokovic routed the Russian in the final, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.

After winning her first-round match at Wimbledon this summer, Germany’s Eva Lys told reporters that the heat compounded the fatigue associated with playing from something like a crouch, a demand of grass-court tennis.

“I don't know if anyone saw, but I slipped twice,” she said. “That is also maybe a thing where, like, with the heat, the focus is not as good. You're not making clean steps.”

The danger posed by fatigue and dehydration manifests in many ways, and ice-wrap towels, courtside fans and replenishment drinks can mitigate but not eliminate them. Dizziness, light-headedness, nausea and a loss of motor control are significant threats that can become more pronounced on hard courts than on grass or clay. Hard courts reflect heat rather than absorb it, and are more punishing on bones and joints.

“I think you get to a point where you're so tired that you don’t really know what you're doing anymore,” Emma Raducanu said, after a tough win over Maria Sakkari in the brutal heat and humidity of the recent Washington, D.C. hard-court tournament. It was the former US Open champion’s first trip to the penultimate round at a tournament in two years. Raducanu was too gassed to get nervous or mentally distracted, which is why she added an ironic kicker: “I think maybe that helped.”

US Open officials first formulated an official heat policy in 2018. It allowed for officials to partially close the roof on Arthur Ashe Stadium to provide shade for players and fans when the temperature surpassed 90-degrees Fahrenheit and 50 percent humidity on the “Heat Stress Index.” The roof was partially closed for several matches, including the one featuring Medvedev and Rublev.

Seeing the handwriting on the wall, the USTA took additional measures to protect against heat in 2024, adding an additional, sophisticated guideline—the delightfully named “Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature.” But the WBGT measures only conditions in the physical environment, while the HSI also takes into account factors like clothing and intensity of activity.

Last year, the official US Open tournament medical team from Mt. Sinai Hospital monitored WBGT every 30 minutes, but the conditions never reached the tipping point that allows for emergency heat mitigation measures that include additional breaks, the use of cooling devices and roof closures. The team of doctors also rehearsed simulated on-site emergency procedures with various collaborators, including EMS, the NYC Fire Dept. and court staff.

But, like the Australian Open, the US Open has avoided adopting a policy that demands mandatory suspension of matches when certain heat and humidity conditions occur. Back in 2013, Medvedev hit that nail on the head when he said: “I'm not sure what we can do because we cannot stop the tournament because it's been what—three, four days?—that it's been brutal like this. Then it basically ruins everything, the TV, even the tickets, everything. It ruins everything.”

Besides, as Alcaraz indicated, a player who has steeled him or herself for the demands of competing under extreme heat probably has an edge when the conditions get ugly. Coco Gauff is among the players who are aware of the advantage offered by living and training in humid Florida.

Gauff had played over five hours of tennis in the punishing heat at the recent National Bank Open by the time she finished her second-round win over Verkonia Kudermetova. She was asked by a reporter if she was concerned by the amount of time she was spending on court in the scorching heat.

“My energy level is there. I’m not quite at the point where these matches tire me out physically,” she explained, adding that she had been training in humid, 90-degree weather in Florida for weeks prior to the tournament, spending between three and three-a-half hours on the court—in addition to fitness training. “So the matches don’t feel as long as they are.

“I would love to get these matches under the two-hour mark, but if this is what it takes, I’m here to be out there.”

Gauff has is an impressive regimen, but even warm-weather warriors have a limit. Let’s hope we don’t discover what that limit is in the coming weeks.