MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Nanawagan ang mga player, kabilang si French star Alize Cornet na magkaroon ng ‘extreme heat policy’ sa Australian Open upang maiwas ang mga players sa tiyak na kapahamakan.
Dahil sa labis na init ng panahon sa Melbourne Park, karamihan sa mga players ang muntik nang mahimatay.
Sa kasalukuyang, ang tournament’s extreme heat policy ay nagiging daan para isara ang bubong sa main show courts at isuspinde ang laro sa iba pang courts sakaling umabot sa 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) ang temperature at ang wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) ay umabot sa 32.5 Celsius (90.5 Fahrenheit).
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Umabot ang temperatura nitong Biyeres sa 40 Celsius, ngunit mababa lamang ang naitala sa WBGT.
“The (official) limit of not playing the match is really high. I think this limit should be a little bit lower because playing in this condition is not nice for anyone,” aniya. “I would never give up because of (the heat), that’s for sure. But you push your body so hard, you almost feel like you’re on the edge.”
Dinepensahan naman ni tournament director Craig Tiley ang panawagan “we start the event with this set of rules and policies in place, and in the interest of fairness, can’t change them halfway through.
“Protecting our players and the fairness of the competition is paramount in these conditions, which we acknowledge can be challenging,” aniya.
Iginiit ni Petra Martic, nagwagi sa loob ng dalawang oras kontra Luksika Kumkhum, nagtamo siya ng paso sap aa dahil sa labis na init.
“It’s really tough on your feet to play in these conditions. I was hoping they would close (the roof), but the temperature was not high enough. ... So unfortunately it stayed this way,” aniya.
