A new extreme heat policy "will be introduced at next month’s Australian Open to protect tennis stars and fans" following a "record number of players" retiring from this year’s event due to the heat, according to Peter Rolfe of the Melbourne HERALD SUN. A "'traffic light' warning system to gauge dangerous temperatures will be served up at the two-week tournament, which has been hit by heatwaves in recent years." The new green, amber and red warnings will "determine when players are issued with ice vests and trigger reminders for spectators to ... seek shade and water." A "clearer trigger point will also be introduced to suspend play, rather than having players and fans guessing." Play will be "halted when an ambient temperature hits 40C and a wet bulb reading of 32.5C is detected." Tournament Dir Craig Tiley said that "more shade would be available at next month’s event but with more heatwaves likely a new policy was needed" (Melbourne HERALD SUN, 12/2). In Australia, Linda Pearce reported the trigger point for the suspension of play at the end of in-progress sets on uncovered courts and roof closures on Rod Laver, Hisense and Margaret Court Arenas will "remain at the discretion of the tournament referee, Wayne McKewan." That does not just require the wet bulb temperature to "reach a predetermined threshhold, but also takes into account relevant weather forecasts when change is imminent, to avoid unnecessary interruptions" (THEAGE.com, 12/1).
