What to know about the heat policy at the
French Open 1 of 5 |
Jannik Sinner of
Italy cools himself with the ice during the second round men’s singles tennis match against
Juan Manuel Cerundolo of
Argentina at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) 2 of 5 | Spectators react as stadium worker sprays the court with water during the second round men’s singles tennis match between
Hubert Hurkacz of
Poland and
Frances Tiafoe of the U.S at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva) 3 of 5 |
Jannik Sinner of
Italy, left, leaves the court holding a bag with ice during the second round men’s singles tennis match against
Juan Manuel Cerundolo of
Argentina at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) 4 of 5 |
Emma Navarro of the U.S. returns to
Iva Jovic of the U.S. during their second round women’s singles tennis match at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) 5 of 5 |
Jannik Sinner of
Italy reacts during the second round men’s singles tennis match against
Juan Manuel Cerundolo of
Argentina at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) 1 of 5 |
Jannik Sinner of
Italy cools himself with the ice during the second round men’s singles tennis match against
Juan Manuel Cerundolo of
Argentina at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) 1 of 5
Jannik Sinner of
Italy cools himself with the ice during the second round men’s singles tennis match against
Juan Manuel Cerundolo of
Argentina at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 5 | Spectators react as stadium worker sprays the court with water during the second round men’s singles tennis match between
Hubert Hurkacz of
Poland and
Frances Tiafoe of the U.S at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva) 2 of 5 Spectators react as stadium worker sprays the court with water during the second round men’s singles tennis match between
Hubert Hurkacz of
Poland and
Frances Tiafoe of the U.S at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 3 of 5 |
Jannik Sinner of
Italy, left, leaves the court holding a bag with ice during the second round men’s singles tennis match against
Juan Manuel Cerundolo of
Argentina at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) 3 of 5
Jannik Sinner of
Italy, left, leaves the court holding a bag with ice during the second round men’s singles tennis match against
Juan Manuel Cerundolo of
Argentina at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 4 of 5 |
Emma Navarro of the U.S. returns to
Iva Jovic of the U.S. during their second round women’s singles tennis match at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) 4 of 5
Emma Navarro of the U.S. returns to
Iva Jovic of the U.S. during their second round women’s singles tennis match at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 5 of 5 |
Jannik Sinner of
Italy reacts during the second round men’s singles tennis match against
Juan Manuel Cerundolo of
Argentina at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) 5 of 5
Jannik Sinner of
Italy reacts during the second round men’s singles tennis match against
Juan Manuel Cerundolo of
Argentina at the
French Open tennis tournament in
Paris, Thursday, May 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
Paris (AP) — Despite an unprecedented heat wave at the
French Open, the tournament’s extreme weather policy has not been activated this week.And even if it had been, it’s unlikely that the retractable roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier would have been closed before or during top-ranked
Jannik Sinner’s loss.According to the policy, if the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) — which takes into account temperature, humidity, sun, wind and other factors — reaches 30.1 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) or higher, 10-minute cooling breaks can be added between the second and third sets for women’s matches and between the third and fourth sets for men’s matches.“If the WBGT hits 32.2 C (90 F), play is suspended… this activates around 100 F,” the policy states.The conditions during Sinner’s defeat to
Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Thursday didn’t hit those levels. The temperature at the start of the match was 29 degrees C (84 F) and rose to 32 C (90 F).The Roland Garros extreme weather policy makes no mention of closing the roofs. There is also a retractable roof on the tournament’s second-biggest stadium: Court Suzanne-Lenglen. 1 MIN READ 1 MIN READ 1 MIN READ That differs from the policy at the Australian Open, where if matches on the outdoor courts have been suspended, the referee may make the decision to close the roof — or to keep the roof closed — for any upcoming matches on the arena courts.Sinner has a history of struggling in the heat. He admitted he was lucky at the Australian Open in January against Eliot Spizzirri when the roof was closed midway through and the third-round match swung his way. The
French Open does not usually have so many consecutive days of extreme heat as experienced this year: It has reached 32 C (90 F) all five days of the tournament so far.The heat policy has never been activated for the
French Open. Djokovic suggests holding more night matchesNovak Djokovic was asked after a grueling four-set victory on Wednesday, if the
French Open should consider changing its policy.“It’s always a discussion,” he said. “But then if you close one roof, then all of the others are playing, it’s not fair, also. Why would you close center court and then everyone else has to be playing on the heat? I wouldn’t agree with that.”Djokovic suggested that the
Paris organizers should consider moving more matches later in the day and night on days with extreme heat.“With Grand Slams it shouldn’t be an issue, because we have so many courts,” Djokovic said. “If you have certain days that you have extreme heat and conditions, then maybe that’s something to consider.”___AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis Dampf has been a Rome-based sports writer at The AP for over 20 years, covering soccer, tennis, Alpine skiing and many other events in
Italy and beyond, including five soccer World Cups. The Milan-Cortina Games will mark the 10th Olympics that he has reported from.