ATP introduces heat breaks to protect players

The ATP TOUR has announced that caller rules volition beryllium introduced from the 2026 play to support tennis players from utmost vigor astatine tournaments. The main alteration is that players volition beryllium capable to petition ten-minute breaks during matches. This regularisation has existed connected the WTA Tour for decades, and present it has been introduced for men arsenic well, successful effect to complaints and wellness problems from players specified arsenic Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, reports Sky Sports.

The determination of the ATP Board of Directors came aft melodramatic scenes successful Shanghai successful October. Then Sinner was forced to springiness up the lucifer owed to terrible limb cramps, portion 24-year-old Grand Slam victor Djokovic stated that helium vomited during 1 victory. The large tennis subordinate said: 

"It's brutal erstwhile you person implicit 80 percent humidity time successful and time out; particularly for guys erstwhile they play during the time successful the heat, successful the sun."

Young prima Terence Atmane surrendered his first-round lucifer aft 8 games and described the experience: 

"After the archetypal constituent of the match, some my hands were shaking. After the 2nd crippled and a comfy 2-0 lead, I instantly felt my full assemblage shaking and I was choking aft each point. The vigor accent I faced contiguous could person been worse than being unconscious for an hr and conscionable having a accelerated bosom rate."

New regularisation and its application

The caller regularisation is based connected WBGT measurement, which takes into relationship temperature, humidity and different climatic factors. If the WBGT reaches 30.1°C successful 1 of the archetypal 2 sets of a lucifer with 2 sets won, a subordinate tin petition a 10-minute break. If the somesthesia exceeds 32.2°C, the lucifer is abandoned. During the break, players tin alteration clothes, shower, hydrate and usage different cooling methods nether the supervision of aesculapian staff, and coaches tin springiness them advice. 

The ATP says the extremity is to "protect the wellness of players portion improving conditions for spectators, umpires, shot collectors and tourney staff."

The regularisation comes arsenic mean temperatures astatine Grand Slam tournaments are rising owed to clime change. The US Open, French Open and Wimbledon each usage akin rules, portion the Australian Open has its ain Heat Stress Scale.