Holger Rune calls for "Grand Slam heat rule" at ATP tournaments amid humid Shanghai conditions

Holger Rune called on the ATP to instate a formal heat rule after winning a 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3 fourth round in high humidity at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Tuesday.

🖥️📲The Match in 15 Minutes: Holger Rune def. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Shanghai 4R

“I think there should be a heat rule like there are in the Grand Slam,” the former world No. 4 said after the match. “I think every player would agree on that. Today was better…today was less hot. But again, it was less hot, but if it was more normal temperature today would be very hot. I think it was like 31 degrees and very humid. But compared to the other days it was pretty brutal.”

Unlike the four Grand Slam tournaments, which each enforce their own policies when matches are played in Extreme Heat—often when temperatures exceed 30.1 degrees Celcius—ATP events empower individual tournament supervisors to make decisions on whether extended breaks or suspensions are put in place.

Conditions in Shanghai have led to numerous retirements and withdrawals throughout the week, including one from No. 2 seed Jannik Sinner, who dealt with cramps before forfeiting to Tallon Greikspoor in his third-round match.

Rune complained about the heat during an on-court medical timeout earlier in the week, sarcastically asking, “You want a player do die on the court?”

“We can handle a certain amount of heat because, you know, we are fit, we're strong, we're mentally strong as well, but there's always a limit,” he elaborated in post-match press. “I think it's also important to take care of your health. We need to survive. I think some kind of rule, you know, not that we should stop if it's just more than this, but like the Grand Slam, you know, they have a feeling on when it's a little bit too much, and we wait a little bit to see if it drops.”

Rune ultimately navigated the conditions—and Mpetshi Perricard’s notoriously big serve—to reach a third Masters 1000 quarterfinal this season.

“Today was a great level match again,” said the tenth-seeded Dane.”A little different match because there was not a lot of rhythm. In a way, it was more about serve and return and first shot.“Next match will bring a different challenge,” he added of his next opponent, Monegasque qualifier Valentin Vacherot.

Vacherot has defeated three straight seeds—one due to a retirement from No. 20 seed Tomas Machac—to reach his first Masters quarterfinal, where he will take on Rune for the first time.