Climate change and professional tennis

Climate change is not a sports issue in and of itself, but this year’s US Open results are being affected by this phenomenon. 

Climate change background. 

With the beginning of the industrial revolution, human activity began pouring green house gases, mainly carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.  The risk that these gases would warm the planet was recognized as far back as the 1890’s, and official reports of warming first appeared in the 1930’s.  With the advent of industrial farming and development of the chemical industry, methane and chlorofluorcarbons, both of which are far more efficient heat trappers than carbon dioxide, were spilled into the atmosphere in ever increasing amounts.  Methane comes mainly from industrial farming, and chlorofluorocarbons are synthesized for use as refrigerants and propellants in aerosol sprays.   As a consequence of green house gas emissions, the planet has been warming rapidly.  This year NASA reported that the rate of warming today is faster than at any time in the last 1000 years.  The bottom line here is that we have already done catastrophic damage to the global environment, and we are just beginning to feel effects that will further evolve over the next few decades.  Of course, green house gas emissions continue to increase.  The Paris climate change accords will lead to some abatement of this increase but will not be enough to forestall a global environmental crisis that is close upon us. 

Climate change and sports

Climate change has been affecting organized sports for quite a long time.  In 1982 the New York Marathon date was moved from October to November because of excessively warm weather in 1981.  In 1992, the WTA instituted a “Heat rule” that allowed a 10 minute rest period between the second and third sets of matches if the temperature exceeded 30 degrees centigrade.   In 2012 the New York Marathon was canceled because of the effects of Sandy, a late season hurricane that decimated the New York area with flooding.  Such extreme weather cannot be proved to be due to climate change, but there is ample reason to be suspicious. 

At this year’s US Open, several players have suffered significantly from the heat.  Garbine Muguruza nearly lost her first round match until she was rescued by ice towels around the neck.  David Goffin lost a final set to 122-ranked Jared Donaldson by 6-0, apparently because of “fatigue”.  Donaldson also suffered from cramps in the match.  Milos Raonic, one of the favorites, succumbed to severe cramping against Ryan Harrison and is out of the tournament.  Cramps in his right arm and legs lowered his serve speed to under 80 mph.  In some cases this year, matches have been more a test of players’ ability to tolerate heat and humidity than a test of tennis skills.  It is naïve to think that players who retire from the heat simply aren’t in good shape.  No two people have exactly the same physiology, and heat tolerance can be as much a function of chance as conditioning.

Whether or not the impact of heat and humidity on matches is acceptable to fans, there are some serious implications of this situation.  Exertion can lead to an inability to cope with rises in core body temperature.  If severe enough, heat stroke may occur, and this condition can be associated with end organ damage, including brain damage, or even death.  We don’t want to see players injured or killed by heat stroke, so this possibility should be considered carefully.  In the Citi Open earlier this year in Washington DC, the court temperature in the final was measured at 141 degrees Farenheit.   Nobody collapsed or died, but should that match have been played under those conditions?  Another concern is for the fans.  Players are young and generally healthy, but fans sitting in the stands may be older and affected by medical conditions that could compromise heat tolerance.  It would not be a good thing if a fan was overcome by heat and suffered severe injury or death. 

             The WTA heat rule demonstrates concern on the part of organized tennis that excessive heat can threaten the health of players.  In my opinion this concern should be heightened and extended to men’s matches.  I also think tournaments that are held in summertime should develop aggressive programs for alerting fans to the potential risks of heat related illness, and advising them on prevention and early treatment.