Organisers of the Australian Open have come under fire after opting to start the first day of the Australian Open qualifying despite air quality readings in the city being measured as ‘hazardous.’
Melbourne Park, which is the venue of the grand slam tournament, was surrounded by a haze on Tuesday as a result of the bushfires wrecking havoc across Australia. According to the National Environment Protection Agency (EPA), the air quality has been rated as ‘very poor’ since 5am local time. Prior to that, it had a rating of hazardous.
As a result of the conditions, there was a 90-minute delay to the start of the qualifying tournament. However, when the play got underway, some players still struggled in the conditions. The biggest victim was world No.180 Dalila Jakupovic, who was forced to retire from her match after having a coughing fit that forced her to drop to the ground. The Slovenian had a 6-4, 5-6, lead over 11th seed Stefanie Vögele before the match was halted.
“I was really scared that I would collapse. That’s why I went onto the floor because I couldn’t walk anymore,” Jakupovic told The Western Australian.
“I don’t have asthma and never had breathing problems. I actually like heat.
“The physio came again and I thought it would be better. But the points were a bit longer and I just couldn’t breathe anymore and I just fell on the floor.”
Awful scenes in Melbourne.
Dalila Jakupovic has abandoned her #AusOpen qualifying match after suffering a coughing fit while playing in thick smoke caused by the #AustralianFires. pic.twitter.com/WAJv6TzTjW
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) January 14, 2020
The former top 70 player has hit out at organisers for allowing matches to take place in the haze. Last week the Australian Open confirmed they have contingency plans in place should the air quality get dangerous. Their plans include moving matches indoors. Tennis Australian CEO Craig Tiley has stated that the health of players and fans is his ‘priority at all times.’
“It’s not healthy for us. I was surprised, I thought we would not be playing today but we don’t have much choice.”Jakupovic stated.
https://twitter.com/Noahrubin33/status/1216824666737659904
Another to struggle in qualifying was Bernard Tomic, who crashed out 7-6(4), 6-3, to Denis Kudla. During the match, the Australian took a medical time out after complaining of breathing difficulties during the early stages of the second set.
“No air is going in. I’m getting tired so easy,” Tomic was heard telling medical staff.
“Is anyone else complaining today?”
“No, it’s been okay,” said the medic.
Eugenie Bouchard has insisted that there needs to be an ‘air quality rule’ implemented to protect the health of players on the tour. The former Wimbledon finalist received multiple timeouts during her match against China’s You Xiaodi, which lasted almost three hours. The Canadian prevailed 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1.
“I felt like it was tough to breathe and a bit nauseous,” Bouchard said. “I felt like the conditions got worse as the match went on…but I was out there for a long time. As an athlete we want to be very careful, our physical health is one of the most important things. It’s not ideal to play in these conditions. Just like the heat rule, there should be an air quality rule.”
At the same time matches were played at the grand slam venue, Maria Sharapova’s clash with Laura Siegemung at the Kooyong Classic was stopped after she said she felt a cough coming on. Her opponent also struggled with the conditions. The venue of where Sharapova played her match is less than 8km away from Melbourne Park.
“I started feeling a cough coming toward the end of the second set but I’ve been sick for a few weeks so I thought that had something to do with it,” Sharapova told SBS after the match.
“But then I heard Laura speak to the umpire and she said she was struggling with it as well.
“We were out there for over two hours so from a health stand point it’s the right call from officials.”
Elina Svitolina, who will be a top five seed in the women’s draw at the Australian Open, is another player to hit out at officials. Voicing her concerns in a social media post.
Why do we need to wait for something bad to happen to do an action 🤷🏼♀️🥵 #Melbourne pic.twitter.com/bYpXyQAfKe
— Elina Monfils (@ElinaSvitolina) January 14, 2020
Amidst the outcry from many on the tour, tournament director Tiley has insisted that enough is being done to protect the welfare of players. Telling reporters that Tennis Australia is looking at conditions on a ‘day-by-day basis.’
“We will just take it a day at a time. We have mitigating circumstances that we have put into place to protect the health and wellbeing of players. We will make any decision that we need to make relative to that.” He said.
There appears to be no let up in the current conditions. According to the EPA, the air quality will range between ‘very poor and hazardous’ on Wednesday.
Breakdown of EPA’s air quality classifications
- Good – It’s a good day to be outside.
- Moderate – The air quality is okay, but it could change soon. It’s okay to be outside but watch for changes in air quality around you.
- Poor – The air is probably dusty or smoky. Sensitive groups may experience symptoms like coughing or shortness of breath.
- Very poor – The air is probably very dusty or smoky. Everyone could be experiencing symptoms like coughing or shortness of breath.
- Hazardous – The air is probably extremely dusty or smoky. Everyone could be experiencing symptoms like coughing or shortness of breath.
