How Are French Open Players Coping With Paris Heat Wave?

The first week of the French Open has brought many disappointments (two) in which people fell on the court due to flooding.

Although the temperature in Europe is very hot at this time of the year, it is not hot in the Sahara in the middle of summer. To understand why people on the court struggle with the heat, you need to look at the mysterious measurement known as the temperature of the light bulb. See if the adage “it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity” that is most appropriate when measuring how heat affects human health.

A female soccer player almost fainted during Monday’s opening match as homegrown player Jakub Mensik limped off the red clay of Roland Garros on Thursday after five games, citing his body. “You just turned it off.” Players spent time between games sitting in the shade and putting ice packs on their heads and shoulders, all in an effort to control the heat.

Temperatures have dropped into the mid 90s (or low 30s for Celsius aficionados), thanks to the “heat dome”, a stationary area of ​​high pressure that traps warm air and causes temperatures to rise. This is where wet bulb heat comes in.

The metric “takes into account several aspects of the environment such as temperature, humidity, sunlight, and wind,” says Rachel Cottle, a postdoctoral researcher at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas. “This is important because when we think about how the environment is suffering, we have to think about all these variables that can increase the risk of heat-related diseases.”

A wet bulb temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) may not sound that bad, but it represents the beginning of a dangerous environment for human health. In this temperature, sweat does not flow as well as it does in hot weather. Cottle is did research showing that even healthy young people begin to experience problems when the wet bulb temperature – a measure that takes into account humidity and temperature – reaches about 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Celsius).

“Although athletes still have a limit, their high cardiorespiratory fitness and ability, heatstroke allows them to have a higher limit than non-athletes and non-athletes,” said health researcher Kat Fisher. “Getting into the shade and cooling the body with ice can help reduce core temperature and reduce persistent heat.”

Having better endurance is not all athletes go to beat the heat. “Athletes are people who have a lot of sweat that helps them to keep cold. They also start to sweat quickly, so their bodies start to cool down quickly. So, in particular, runners have active sweaters,” says Cottle, while emphasizing that even the best sweaters that are walking among us ordinary people have their limits. Without adequate rest and access to cooling, the risk of heatstroke or heart problems increases.

The French Tennis Federation says it will keep two thermometers capable of measuring the global temperature on the Roland Garros courts, with plans to extend breaks between sets or cancel matches if they exceed certain limits. The light bulbs at the French Open have not reached this point even with matches played in the hottest part of the day on unshaded courts. But health issues on the court have highlighted the danger, with temperatures expected to rise further in the coming days as the suspended heatwave in the region deepens.

Three other Grand Slam tennis tournaments—Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open—have heat plans that allow players to take long breaks and cool down. All scenarios depend on wet bulb measurements to achieve.