'It's always hot here.' As temperatures rise, players drop out of Cincinnati Open
Over the last few days, the heat has impacted several ATP and WTA stars, with a few forced to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open.
More: Cincinnati Open 4th round ATP, WTA results, schedule
More: Watch Sinner, Alcaraz sneak up on fans at Cincinnati Open: 'It blew us all away'
No. 31 seed Magda Linette thanked fans for braving the heat Aug. 13 after defeating 2024 Cincinnati Open runner-up Jessica Pegula on Center Court in three sets.
Heat affecting several tennis players at Cincinnati Open
Fans hoping for another deep Cincinnati run by American Frances Tiafoe were denied Aug. 13 when the Maryland native retired during the second set of his fourth-round match on Center Court against No. 7 seed Holger Rune.
Tiafoe seemed uncomfortable with the heat, frequently sporting a wet towel across his neck and face before retiring officially with a lower back injury that tightened up at the end of the first set.
Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the Round of 16 via a walkover Aug. 11 when his opponent, Arthur Rinderknech of France, fell to the court due to the intense heat and eventually retired.
One day later on Center Court, Francisco Comesana was preparing to serve against Reilly Opelka before taking a timeout near his courtside bench. The 24-year-old received medical attention as he battled the heat. Comesana eventually returned to the match and beat Opelka in three sets.
ATP No. 16 seed Jakub Mensik retired after just 43 minutes of his Round of 32 match against Luca Nardi Aug. 12. Mensik retired due to illness. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired from his first-round match in the sweltering heat Aug. 9, though he later cited a need to preserve his energy ahead of the U.S. Open.
"It's always hot here," said former Cincinnati Open champion Coco Gauff, who needed just 70 minutes to win her Center Court match Aug. 10 against Xinyu Wang.
Should ATP Tour introduce a heat rule?
It was Gauff's former coach, Brad Gilbert, who won the Cincinnati Open in 1989, who spoke out on social media about the need for a heat rule on the ATP Tour.
According to the WTA official rule book for 2025, there is a 10-minute heat-rule break between the second and third set.
The rule goes into effect when the Heat Stress Index meets a certain temperature relative to the humidity.
The ATP has no such rule for beating the heat.
Daniil Medvedev plunged his head into a Gatorade cooler during the third set of his second-round match. Two years ago, Medvedev bluntly stated "one player is going to die" into an on-court camera during a steamy U.S. Open match.
How hot is it at the Cincinnati Open?
According to the Weather Channel, the temperature Aug. 13 in Mason is 85 degrees and it feels like 93 with 66% humidity.
According to the National Weather Service, the weekend temperatures reach into the mid-90s.
And that's not calculating how much hotter it is for players on the court.
The Lindner Family Tennis Center features hard courts, which are considered the hottest of any playing surface as the concrete retains the most heat. Studies show that the on-court temperature can be anywhere from 10 to 20 degrees hotter than off the court.
'Battling the heat, the hot, I think is one of the things that we have to do. Yeah, it's really tough to play with that conditions, to be honest," ATP star Carlos Alcaraz said in London. "But we are tennis players. I always say, we have to get used to these conditions as soon as possible.'
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Rising temperatures have become a problem at 2025 Cincinnati Open
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