WIMBLEDON — Players at Wimbledon battled near-record temperatures for the Championships on Tuesday, as heat and humidity pushed conditions to the extreme.
The record temperature of 35.9 degrees Celsus was never quite in danger but at 33.4 degrees and humidity of over 70 per cent, organisers were forced to take extra precautions.
Ice towels were replaced more frequently and water coolers by the courts were topped up regularly, although the threshold for the heat rule that allows players to take extra breaks was never quite reached.
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”It was very humid today,” said No 3 seed Jessica Pegula, who refused to blame the weather for her shock defeat to world No 116 Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
“I don’t mind it. It feels like Florida. I definitely didn’t feel tired, but I do feel like it probably slowed the court done a little bit. It was very heavy.”
Australia’s Priscilla Hon is a Brisbane girl and did not expect to be challenged by the heat and humidity that is normality back home, but after months on tour in Europe, she is no longer acclimatised.
“It is hot,” said Hon, who came through qualifying to reach the main draw before losing in round one.
“Honestly, I haven’t even been in Australia much, so I’m struggling with the heat. I’m like, ‘What is this?’.”
Unsurprisingly, every player quizzed about heat strategy talked about hydration.
“We kind of just obviously hydrate a little bit more, put more electrolytes in your body. I think for the most part all of us kind of prepare for battles no matter what,” said Tommy Paul, who lives in the tropical Boca Raton, Florida.
“We prepare pretty similar. Maybe the day before I’ll think about drinking more fluids, but really not too much different.”
Britain’s Dan Evans resorted to bags of ice on his head (Photo: Getty)Hydration alone is not enough though. The 24 hours before match need to be spent fuelling with regular, carbohydrate-heavy meals to help absorb and retain water.
“I always kind of do before matches, but if you just keep drinking water and you don’t have much food, it’s just going to keep going through you!” adds Hon.
Sleep is increasingly important for high performance sport, but the humidity and heat is making restful nights hard to come by in south-west London.
“I think the heat during the match is an advantage to me, because I just came from Florida two weeks ago,” said Paul.
“But the heat during the night last night was an advantage for all the Brits, because I guess they’re used to sleeping with no AC, and I am not!”
He added: “We have the portable [air-conditioning] units. We just rented them.”
‘I am dying in my bedroom!’
But clearly, they don’t cut it. Britain’s Heather Watson, a former Florida resident herself, is one of the few players staying at home with air-conditioning – except when it breaks.
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“I wasn’t like dying out there. I tell you where I am dying though is my bedroom at night because my AC is broken,” Watson said after first-round defeat to Clara Tauson.
“I was okay [on court]. I thought about changing my clothes, but then I quite enjoyed that it was wet, keeping me cool.”
Paul had other ideas.
He added: “I brought a lot more shirts today than I normally would in a Wimbledon match. And I was pulling out the ice towel in the first set, just to keep the body cool.”
What do the experts say?
Dr Chris Tyler, reader in environmental physiology at the University of Roehampton says that players need to make the most of all opportunities to cool their bodies, during and indeed before matches.
Make your opponent run. If you are good enough to dictate play, by making your opponent do most of the running you will increase their physiological strain (e.g. heart rate and body temperature) while minimising the increase in yours. As the match develops this will likely cause earlier physical and mental fatigue in your opponent giving you the advantage and allowing you to increase your intensity when they are unable to respond. Pre-cool before entering the court. Once on court, your body temperature is only likely to increase so immerse yourself in some cold water before getting ready to lower your body temperature and warm-up in a cool room like a gym or a changing room to delay any temperature increases. Make the most of the breaks when changing ends/between sets. Seeking shade under the umbrella while drinking cold drinks and applying cold packs to your neck and thighs will help you feel cooler and may even reduce your body temperature. The longer you are inactive the better so you might want to make use of a tactical bathroom break too if you’re feeling too hot. Read More Details
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