With the heatwave which is "currently engulfing the majority of Britain, tennis players at Wimbledon will be fearing for their safety as temperatures are set to soar above 30 degrees Celsius," according to Liam Corless of the London DAILY MIRROR. Forecasters are predicting temperatures of 36C at SW19 next week, "prompting fears that we could see a repeat of the scenes which were seen at the 2014 Australian Open." Almost 18 months ago players and ballboys fainted as temperatures in Melbourne "hit a sweltering 40C." Luckily for some players "there are measures in place to lower the chance of competitors damaging their health." The Heat Rule was introduced by the Women's Tennis Association in '92. It allows women to take a 10-minute break between the second and third sets when the heat stress index exceeds 30.1C. The rule applies to all tournaments on the WTA circuit, and it has been implemented at Wimbledon in both '06 and '09. Despite the "danger that excessive heat can bring to both men and women, there remains no rule on the ATP tour which allows men to take a similar break." Wimbledon could implement its "own rule for both sets of players," but is not "obliged to do so" (DAILY MIRROR, 6/30).
