PARIS (AP) — Despite an unprecedented heat wave at the French Open, the tournament’s extreme weather policy has not been activated this week.
And even if it had been, it’s unlikely that the retractable roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier would have been closed before or during top-ranked Jannik Sinner’s loss.
According to the policy, if the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) — which takes into account temperature, humidity, sun, wind and other factors — reaches 30.1 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) or higher, 10-minute cooling breaks can be added between the second and third sets for women’s matches and between the third and fourth sets for men’s matches.
“If the WBGT hits 32.2 C (90 F), play is suspended… this activates around 100 F,” the policy states.
The conditions during Sinner’s defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Thursday didn’t hit those levels.
The temperature at the start of the match was 29 degrees C (84 F) and rose to 32 C (90 F).
The Roland Garros extreme weather policy makes no mention of closing the roofs. There is also a retractable roof on the tournament’s second-biggest stadium: Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
That differs from the policy at the Australian Open, where if matches on the outdoor courts have been suspended, the referee may make the decision to close the roof — or to keep the roof closed — for any upcoming matches on the arena courts.
Sinner has a history of struggling in the heat. He admitted he was lucky at the Australian Open in January against Eliot Spizzirri when the roof was closed midway through and the third-round match swung his way.
The French Open does not usually have so many consecutive days of extreme heat as experienced this year: It has reached 32 C (90 F) all five days of the tournament so far.
The heat policy has never been activated for the French Open.
Djokovic suggests holding more night matches
Novak Djokovic was asked after a grueling four-set victory on Wednesday, if the French Open should consider changing its policy.
“It’s always a discussion,” he said. “But then if you close one roof, then all of the others are playing, it’s not fair, also. Why would you close center court and then everyone else has to be playing on the heat? I wouldn’t agree with that.”
Djokovic suggested that the Paris organizers should consider moving more matches later in the day and night on days with extreme heat.
“With Grand Slams it shouldn’t be an issue, because we have so many courts,” Djokovic said. “If you have certain days that you have extreme heat and conditions, then maybe that’s something to consider.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis