Play has been suspended on all outdoor courts at the Wuhan Open, as the hot and heavy conditions in China continue to wreak havoc on top tennis tournaments. There have already been seven retirements at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, with Jannik Sinner forfeiting his match when he could barely walk on Sunday night.
The humidity seems to have made its way to Wuhan, where a WTA 1000 tournament is underway. It’s only day one, and there has already been a retirement, with Dayana Yastremska throwing in the towel on Monday.
It is now too hot to continue on the smaller outdoor courts, with matches currently suspended, but action can continue on the centre court with the roof closed.
“I can tell you that they’ve shut the roof in Wuhan because of the heat and there’s no play on the outside courts because of the heat,” Sky Sports commentator Jonathan Overend told UK viewers on Monday.
But the conditions are still causing chaos for the players. Temperatures reached 32 degrees Celsius in Wuhan, and humidity is set to rise to a staggering 98 per cent as the evening goes on.
The players are already feeling the heat, as Yastremska called the trainer and ultimately retired from her opening match against Laura Siegemund with Siegemund leading 7-5 4-6 4-1.
The Ukrainian tennis star received treatment for what appeared to be a shoulder injury, but she and Siegemund were both battling against the humidity, and they had a brief conversation as Yastremska decided she couldn’t continue.
On the other outside courts, Marie Bouzkova and Hailey Baptiste were able to win their opening matches before play was halted. Elise Mertens and Polina Kudermetova had just finished the first set when they had to leave the court with Mertens leading 7-6(5).
Under the heat rule, players can receive a 10-minute off-court break ahead of the final set, should they wish to take it. In ‘extreme weather conditions’, which are met when the heat stress index reaches a predetermined figure, play can be suspended altogether.
Katerina Siniakova was able to cause a big upset under the roof on the cool centre court. Ranked at No. 1 in doubles, Siniakova came through qualifying to reach the main draw in singles and stunned Diana Shnaider 6-4 6-4.
No. 15 seed Shnaider received treatment for a leg issue early in the second set but played on.
Plenty of players, including No. 10 seed Clara Tauson and wildcard Yue Yuan, are still waiting to learn whether they’ll be able to play on the court to complete their matches later on Monday.
British No. 1 Emma Raducanu is expected to make her Wuhan Open debut against Ann Li on Tuesday, but the schedule could be thrown into disarray if the weather continues to affect matches.