'You want a player to die?' Heat stress reaches boiling point

Even in a sport that chases the sun, extreme conditions are testing human limits beyond just match fitness

- Tumaini Carayol

Jannik Sinner had tried everything but after baking for two and a half hours inside the sauna of Shanghai’s stadium court, he was finished.

Even around midnight, the humidity was still so oppressive he spent the final 20 minutes of his third-round match against Tallon Griekspoor cramping, panting and in considerable pain. Eventually, he could not even walk properly. Midway through the final set, the 24-year-old hobbled slowly to his chair using his racket as a crutch and terminated the match.

Those scenes were representative of the Shanghai Masters so far as, throughout the past week, so many players have wilted in brutal conditions. Terence Atmane and Hamad Medjedovic both retired after struggling with the heat. Francisco Comesaña appeared close to collapsing. Despite competing at night, Novak Djokovic repeatedly vomited in two consecutive matches.

Five hundred miles away in Wuhan, the weather has also been challenging for the top female players. Emma Raducanu and Jelena Ostapenko both retired in hot, humid conditions. Alongside a social media video that showed her wringing out sweat from her socks, Bianca Andreescu wrote: “Wuhan weather really said: 'Go play tennis in a sauna.”

As startling as these scenes have been, this is hardly uncharted territory. Every year players are pushed to their limits in a sport that chases the sun. However, tennis has failed to ensure players' safety by tackling the danger of competing in such extreme conditions.