With temperatures expected to soar on Day 7 at the 2026 Australian Open, a leading athlete welfare and injury prevention expert has spoken to Tennis365 about the impact of heat in tennis.
Stephen Smith, who is the founder and CEO of Kitman Labs — the world’s leading sports science and performance intelligence company — argued that the challenge of Grand Slam scheduling is not an excuse for putting players at risk.
The Australian Open presents some of the most difficult conditions for players to compete in, with the tournament held in the middle of the summer in Melbourne.
Temperatures are predicted to climb to close to 40 degrees Celsius in the afternoon in Melbourne on Saturday, with the third round matches in the bottom half of the men’s and women’s draws on the order of play.
In light of the forecast, organisers have adjusted the schedule, with play now starting an hour earlier on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and the John Cain Arena — the three main show courts which have roofs and air conditioning.
In addition, five matches will be played on Margaret Court Arena instead of the usual four.
Stephen Smith, who is the founder and CEO of Kitman Labs — the world’s leading sports science and performance intelligence company — asserted that the difficulty of Grand Slam scheduling is not an excuse for putting players at risk.
“I get that the scheduling of that and the build-up that comes from having to postpone or pause a match — the schedule is already really tight and it (postponing matches for extreme heat) builds up more congestion,” Smith said in an exclusive interview.
“I get that complexity. But at the end of the day, asking somebody to compete at a high level in that type of heat is a hugely physical toll.
“I think it should be important from a health and safety perspective in all tournaments.
“I don’t think you can use match congestion or the number of matches that need to be played as an excuse that players’ health and safety becomes less important because of that.”
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What is the Australian Open heat policy?
The Australian Open introduced a policy for extreme heat — the ‘AO Heat Stress Scale’ — for the 2019 edition of the tournament.
The Australian Open Heat Stress Scale (Credit: TNT Sports)
Here is what the Australian Open website says about the scale.
“The Heat Stress Scale will be used to measure four climate factors – radiant heat (strength of the sun), air temperature in the shade, relative humidity and wind speed.
“These will be measured at five positions around the precinct, including on court in Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and Melbourne Arena. The scale starts at (1) for temperate playing conditions and escalates to (5) – suspension of play.
“Under the EHP, the Tournament Referee will allow a 10-minute break between the second and third sets in both women’s and junior singles matches and a 15-minute break in wheelchair singles matches when a four (4.0) is recorded on the AO HSS prior to or during the first two sets of the match.
“In the men’s singles, a 10-minute break will be allowed after the third set when a four (4.0) is recorded on the AO HSS prior to or during the first three sets of the match.
“If a five (5.0) is recorded on the AO HSS, the Tournament Referee can suspend the start of matches on outside courts and all matches in progress continuing until the end of an even number of games in that set or completion of the tie break before play will be suspended.
“Matches on Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and Melbourne Arena will stop after an even number of games in that set or completion of the tie-break when the Tournament Referee can decide to close the roof for the remainder of the match and the following matches when the EHP is still in effect.”
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