Australian Open extreme heat policy

Its current iteration was first implemented in 2019 and uses a scale of 1 to 5 that accounts for the physiological variances between adults, wheelchair and junior athletes while also taking into account the four climate factors–air temperature, radiant heat or the strength of the sun, humidity and wind speed–which affect a player’s ability to disperse heat from their body.

The policy was further changed in 2008 to allow play to be stopped only at the discretion of the tournament referee, rather than relying solely on temperature and WBGT calculations.

The extreme heat policy came under criticism during the 2014 Australian Open after ballboys, attendants in the stands, and players were suffering various heat-related illnesses due to four consecutive days with highs between 41.5 and 43.9 °C (106.7 and 111.0 °F), but organizers claimed the humidity remained low enough on all but one day for the policy not to be enforced; tournament referee Wayne McKewen said that "While conditions were hot and uncomfortable, the relatively low level of humidity ensured that conditions never deteriorated to a point where it was necessary to invoke the extreme heat policy".

[11] Frank Dancevic, who began to hallucinate and collapse during his 6–7(12–14), 3–6, 4–6 loss to Benoît Paire, described the conditions as "inhumane" while severely criticising the policy, and Andy Murray voiced his concerns about people's safety, stating that "it only takes one bad thing to happen".

[12] Nine players retired during the second day, while Daniel Gimeno-Traver carried off a ball boy who fainted during his match and Peng Shuai was amongst many throughout the tournament that required medical attention.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Caroline Wozniacki noted that their shoes and water bottles were beginning to melt in the conditions,[13] while Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka said that the heat was affecting their play.

Gilles Simon, who was injured prior to the tournament, took a similar view and said that the heat improved his game.

On Rod Laver Arena, Maria Sharapova and Karin Knapp had to complete a 3rd set that lasted nearly 2 hours and 18 games.

[16] On January 24, 2015, the Herald Sun reported that Susan Carman sued the Melbourne & Olympic Parks Trust for failing to close the roof at Hisense Arena during Andy Murray's second round match in the 2013 Australian Open.