Tennis in Tokyo, between hot weather and loud insects

The cicadas are the soundtrack in Tokyo. In the absence of fans clapping, screaming and singing, silence would have been dominating around the Ariake Tennis Centre. Instead, the loud and passionate sound of these males, calling for reproduction, dominates the scene.

The deafening noise that has distracted more than one tennis player these days, is synonymous of summer in Tokyo, when millions of cicadas invade the city’s trees and bushes and temperatures break thermometers.

If there’s buzzing chirp, there’s intense heat: 33°C that feels like over 40° over the blue Olympic hard courts. With the order of play starting when the sun is heating stronger than any other time of the day, and finishing on some courts when there’s still natural light for a couple of hours, tennis players aren’t happy.

“I started my match in the first session, at 11 in the morning, finishing at 2 in the afternoon. Definitely the worst time. With the sun against your face for one set and a half. Matches could easily start at 3, as you can see, some other courts are empty after 5 and besides, there’s artificial light that can be used”, Argentinean player Francisco Cerundulo tells Around The Rings after his loss to Liam Broady of Great Britain.

“There’s no need for the organization to schedule us in the toughest moment of the day, really. After three hours, I ended up broken. Same for my rival. Nothing justifies that”, the Argentinian protests, while in other courts, the last session is about to begin.

Former number one Garbiñe Muguruza, who had to retire once in Miami due to a heatstroke, also said organizers should consider moving matches later to avoid extra damage to the health of players. The World No.2 Daniil Medvedev came with that same demand after his first round win, finding the support of Novak Djokovic. The Serbian said it would be even better for TV broadcasters, as that would benefit audiences in different time zones like USA and Europe.

For the Colombian doubles team formed by Robert Farah and Juan Sebastian Cabal, making a complaint does not make any sense. Cabal said that after their victory over the Spanish duo Davidovich/Carreño: “Conditions are super hard, but they are the same to everyone. We just need to be prepared, well adapted to a type of weather not seen too much on tour. Is what players can do”.

“It’s obviously not easy, but we knew it was gonna be like that since the day we started the practices,” Frenchman Gael Monfils indicated after losing against Ilya Ivashka, from Belarus. “We just need to drink more water”.

The International Tennis Federation won’t modify the schedules. “The Olympic calendar sets tennis during nine days and there are five draws to be completed. We need to fit many matches and, despite the heat, we cannot forget about the rain. Only the Centre Court has a roof, so we need to be prepared in case the rain delays the tournament”, Heather Bowler, head of media of ITF, explained. Rain is expected for Monday night and during the entire Tuesday.

“We implemented 30 seconds extra during changeovers, players can cool down with ice towels and cold air. Continuously, temperatures are being monitored and if it gets higher than 30.1° C, Extreme Weather Policy activates”, Bowler added. During this policy, players can take a 10 minute break between the first and second set.

Medals won’t melt, that’s for sure. They will be there for whoever beats their rivals and the sticky heat. And cicadas will keep doing their thing, reminding they arrived precisely because it’s pretty hot out there.