THE Australian Open has been affected by soaring temperatures, with the first major championship of the tennis calendar reaching 42.7 °C on Tuesday.
As a consequence of the heat, event organisers are expecting ticket sales to be lower than usual with the second week of competition in full swing. The AO 2026 Wheelchair Championships, which were set to commence on the 27th of January, have, as a consequence, been pushed back to Wednesday.
The tournament kick-starter between British No.1 seed Alfie Hewett and Japan’s Takuya Miki is one of a host of matches that have been forced to move to later in the calendar. The Court 5 showcase between third seed Martin De la Puente and Ruben Spaargaren was also rescheduled.
The official @AustralianOpen social media page has advised tennis fans planning to attend amid the heat to dress appropriately, drink plenty of water and make use of the shade and various cooling areas available onsite.
This is not the first time the AO Open has been forced to move quickly to combat the heat, with Saturday’s humidity playing a big factor in Jannik Sinner overcoming American Eliot Spizzirri in close to 40 °C.
The two-time Australian Open winner admitted after that match that he “got lucky” after the heat rule came into play after his 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win in the third round.
Despite world-class tennis talent on display last Saturday, attendance was down massively from days prior, with many attributing the drop to the rising heat on day seven.
Outside of wheelchair competition, day ten matches remained largely unaffected, with Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz all in action.
