Player collapses due to hot weather as conditions continue to challenge participants at Cincinnati Open

Global warming has been a cause of debate in the world for some time. Scientists from different countries have been warning the leaders to pay attention to the rising temperatures worldwide, which are becoming the source of natural disasters more frequently.

Rising temperatures have now started to impact the tennis world as well. Currently, the only major competition taking place is the Cincinnati Open. Both men’s and women’s leading players from all over the world are participating not only to lift the title but also to prepare for the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, which will begin in less than two weeks.

During the competition, some players have already raised concerns about the extreme heat on the court. Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Russia’s Andrey Rublev are the two most prominent players who shared their concerns about the testing conditions for the players in Cincinnati. On Monday, France’s Arthur Rinderknech collapsed because of excessive heat during the third-round fixture against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime just before the start of the fifth game in the second set.

Rinderknech managed to get up and started playing again, but failed to continue it for much longer as he retired midway through the second set. The final score of the match was 7-6, 4-2. Auger-Aliassime spoke to The Tennis Channel after the game and revealed that the Frenchman was not feeling great throughout the match. Auger-Aliassime also went on to highlight how challenging the conditions have been, not only for the players, but also for the fans and compared the conditions to a hot ‘oven’.

“Yeah, well it was sudden on my perspective we spoke after and he said that he [Rinderknech] wasn't feeling great today from one on the first set,” said Auger-Aliassime. “So actually throughout the whole match he wasn't feeling amazing and I think he just fought through. Obviously it was key for me to win that first set. He was still playing some very good level of serving well. And then yeah, to all. As we can see he went down and just laid there for a bit. Yeah, it feels like an oven really. And even I feel for the fans as well. You know, we're moving and we're focused on winning, but I think for the fans to sit out there for a long time and for our team, you know, it's quite hot. So, you know, friendly reminder to drink and bring a hat and to cool down and whenever you can.”

Talking about his performance, Auger-Aliassime stated that he felt good about his service display and noted that it was the most significant positive for him that came out of the contest. “Yeah, I think that for sure,” said Auger Aliassime. “In the first set, I think my, yeah, I saw a stat after the first set that I almost didn't lose a point. Even on second serve too long and first serve was great, but on second serve too. So I think my service games were very clean, you know, not really losing any point, not giving any hope to my opponent. So overall, you know, outside of one game where I got broken, it was, you know, almost perfect day on the serve. So a lot of good things on that department of my game.”

Auger-Aliassime will next face France’s Benjamin Bonzi in the fourth round of the competition on Wednesday. Bonzi cemented his spot in the last-16 after beating Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two players in professional tennis.