Good news! Tennis at the Olympics now at 8am at the earliest

The organisers of the tennis tournament at the Olympics have come under fire from critics because the players had to play in adverse conditions. In Tokyo, for example, they played through midday local time, when the temperature was close to 40 degrees. So the International Tennis Federation reacted and made a change.

Due to the unbearable heat, Spain’s Paula Badosa ended Wednesday’s quarterfinal match against Marketa Vondrousova early.

On the same day, Russian Daniil Medvedev was also on the verge of losing his match against Fabio Fognini of Italy and required two medical treatments.

When the referee asked him in the second set if he was fit to continue, Medvedev did not argue with the answer: “I can finish the match, but I can also die. If I die, who will be responsible?”

“They could do that, but I don’t think they will resort to that in the middle of the tournament,” he said in response to a possible change in start times after the match.

Most players, including Novak Djokovic, called for the change. “ Forcing us to play at noon in 40 degree heat, there is no explanation for that.”

So the International Tennis Federation reacted under pressure. “In the interest of the players’ health and after extensive consultations, matches will start at 3pm local time from Thursday 29 July,” it said on its Twitter account.

Source:: ITF Media, Sport.cz