Wimbledon Is Heating Up For The Finals But Player Welfare Is A Concern

When Novak Djokovic performed the unintentional splits against Flavio Cobolli on match point in his Wimbledon quarterfinal, the All England Club executives must have been wincing as the crowd held their breath. Last man standing needs an opponent along the way to make tennis work. Retirements and injuries blunt the purity of one-on-one competition.

The world’s stretchiest player managed to get up as if nothing had happened while Cobolli politely gave Djokovic his racket back. Player welfare can be between buddies if not from the governing authorities.

The second week of Wimbledon is what former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson might refer to as “squeaky bum time.” Djokovic ended up flat on his stomach on Wednesday, a part of the body that he has been stretching and tending to in the last few matches. As the SW19 schedule moves inexorably towards the endgame, the pressure is cranked up in mind and body. Semifinals and finals at Wimbledon are being played in more than 30 degree heat.

Within six games of the Aryna Sabalenka and Amanda Anisimova clash, the former was providing water for a distressed fan at courtside. The scene was reminiscent of Carlos Alcaraz doing the same during his marathon tussle with Fabio Fognini on the hottest opening day ever at Wimbledon. When Iga Swiatek was 3-0 up during her cool destruction of Belinda Bencic, another spectator had to be carried off court by paramedics.

Wimbledon permits a 10-minute break when the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is at or above 30.1 degrees and can be implemented on player request after the second set for all best of three set matches, and after the third for all best of five set matches. The reading is a combination of air temperature, humidity and surface temperature and is measured by a heat stress monitor.

The U.S. Open has a similar measure and the Australian Open implements an Extreme Heat Policy. In 2014, temperatures in Melbourne reached well over 40 as players suffered, collapsed and complained.

“Wimbledon was never designed to be played in 90 degree heat, and climate change is only exacerbating that stress on athletes,” says Robert Boland, Sports Law Attorney at Shumaker and a former player agent. “The physical demands of tennis have quietly escalated over the years while the financial stakes have skyrocketed. The prize money and sponsorship opportunities attached to the top tournaments are so lucrative that organizers have been incentivized to expand the format adding more matches, more rounds, with more risk to the players.”

On the first Monday, two former Grand Slam finalists, Ons Jaber and Stefanos Tsitsipas, retired in temperatures soaring towards 32. Tsistipas sounded like a broken man physically. “I’m battling many wars these days. It’s really painful to see myself in a situation like this,” said the Greek. Jordan Thompson complained of being “sore every day” before pulling out of his match against Fritz when 6-1 and 3-0 down.

Seven of the nine ATP Masters have turned into “mini Grand Slams” played over a fortnight, together with six of the 10 WTA 1000s. “Now we essentially don’t have four Grand Slams – we have maybe 12,” said Djokovic. Wimbledon finalist Swiatek has been vocal about the schedule, calling it too “intense” on the eve of the Championships. Alcaraz has said that the calendar is “killing” players.

The physical nature of a 14-day Slam is beginning to show. Jannik Sinner is in the wars after ‘beating’ Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian was playing like a dream, but had retired from his previous four Slams. Dimitrov is damaged goods. As it turned out, he pulled a chest muscle and had to cede to the Italian when two sets to the good. That was a result for the tournament, albeit one where due respect to the fallen had to be given.

Sinner himself called the trainer out after falling on his elbow and wore protective padding against Ben Shelton. He needed it after one Shelton shell reverberated off his racket. It’s like a field hospital out there. The Djokovic and Sinner semi has some smouldering health concerns to say the least.

Tennis has had its fair share of blowback on the issue of player health and wellbeing. Recently, the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), a breakaway players’ organization co-founded by Novak Djokovic, landed legal documents in London, New York and Brussels accusing the main tennis tours, the ATP, WTA and the ITF of acting like a cartel. Submissions argued there was a “blatant disregard for player welfare” and that they deserve better working conditions.

“Talk of a truer players’ union, something tennis still lacks, might be the only way to create real balance between the commercial pressures of the sport and the long-term health of the athletes. But that kind of structural change won’t come quickly,” said Boland.

Rafael Nadal famously withdrew from his Wimbledon semifinal with Nick Kyrgios in 2022 with an abdominal tear. That was the cost of his epic last eight tussle with Taylor Fritz. It was epic, gladiatorial five-star entertainment with Nadal performing the wounded Russell Crowe act to perfection. Unfortunately, it left fans who had paid a minimum of £200 per ticket with only one semifinal singles match to watch. The AELTC took the step of providing refunds while counting the cost of having no sequel to Cameron Norrie’s ultimately fruitless fight to get past Djokovic.

In his recent Wimbledon Theatre show just before the Championships, Kyrgios described tennis as a “non-combat sport”. Yet the very physical nature of the tour and the pounding of different surfaces is taking its toll. “You have to find the joy in suffering,” Alcaraz mused after reaching his first French Open final. It’s an unwritten rule.