‘Women are stronger!’ Sabalenka jokes as Australian Open roof closes only after her quarterfinal win

Melbourne: Organisers at the Australian Open activated the tournament’s Extreme Heat Protocol for the second time this week on Tuesday as Melbourne baked under record-breaking temperatures.

The safety measure utilises a "Heat Stress Scale" of 1 to 5, which evaluates a combination of air temperature, humidity, wind speed, and radiant heat. When the index reaches its maximum of 5, play is halted on all outdoor courts and retractable roofs are closed on the venue’s three primary arenas.

The protocols were first triggered on Saturday during Jannik Sinner’s centre-court match. On Tuesday, Day 10 play began under an open sky, but officials re-imposed the measures shortly after world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated American Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0. The roof remained closed for the subsequent men’s quarterfinal between third-seeded Alexander Zverev and 20-year-old American Learner Tien.

“At the end of the match, it was really hot out there,” Sabalenka said following her victory. “I’m glad they kind of closed the roof kind of, like, almost halfway, so we had a lot of shade in the back, so we could go back and stay in the shade."

The Belarusian star joked about the timing of the full closure for the men's session. “I guess, yeah, as a woman, we are stronger than the guys, so they had to close the roof for the guys so they don’t suffer!” she added with a laugh.

Established in 2019 to minimise heat-related illnesses and ensure competitive consistency, the protocol allows the tournament referee to order cooling interventions or suspend play entirely. With the mercury forecast to hit a blistering 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) late Tuesday, organisers stood ready to adjust the schedule.

Key elements of the Extreme Heat Protocol include:

• The Scale: A 1-to-5 rating based on four environmental factors.
• Suspension Threshold: Play is automatically stopped on outside courts when the index hits 5.
• Set Breaks: If the index reaches 4, players are granted an extra 10-minute break between the second and third sets for women, and between the third and fourth sets for men.
• Resumption Rules: Players must be provided with at least 30 minutes of notice before play restarts following a heat suspension.

Sabalenka noted that she entered her match fully aware of the safety thresholds. “I knew... that they won’t let us play on crazy heat. If it would reach the 5, they would definitely close the roof, so I knew that they were protecting us, our health,” she said, noting the index had reached 4.4 by the time her match concluded.

With inputs from AP