Extreme heat and monsoonal rain in Melbourne have led to multiple delays at the Australian Open. A total of 22 of the Day 2 singles matches originally scheduled for Tuesday — 12 women’s, 10 men’s — had to be rescheduled for Wednesday.
About three hours into the day session of the first Grand Slam of the season, temperatures reached 97 degrees Fahrenheit. The tournament’s Heat Stress Scale — which measures radiant heat (strength of the sun), air temperature in the shade, relative humidity and wind speed — reached its maximum threshold of five, which suspended play on the outdoor courts.
“The AO Heat Stress Scale has reached 5 and play will be suspended on the outside courts,” the tournament announced on social media. “This means play continues until the end of an even number of games or the completion of a tie break. No new matches will be called to court. Play on outdoor practice courts is also suspended.”
Around 5 p.m. local time matches were able to resume. However, three hours later rain started coming down.
Matches stopped and started until all outside courts were eventually listed as “closed.” Matches that had not yet resumed or hadn’t started were moved to Wednesday, when more rain is expected. One of those matches includes No. 8 Daria Kasatkina vs. American Sloane Stephens.
Play continued in the main show courts that have a roof. No. 4 seed Caroline Garcia beat Katherine Sebov 6-3 6-0 at Rod Laver Arena.
“I have to admit on Rod Laver Arena it was pretty nice. Obviously it was warm. It was nice to be able to walk in the shadow a little bit when you were able to serve but I didn’t feel that (it was) such warm weather,” Garcia said, per Reuters.
No. 2 Ons Jabeur was also able to play her match against Tamara Zidansek. She survived an upset scare and won 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-1.
Novak Djokovic, who hadn’t played in Rod Laver Arena since 2021, skipped the weather issues and celebrated his return with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 victory over Carballes Baena in two hours and two minutes. Andy Murray also took the court at Rod Laver Arena and beat Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (10-6).
Women’s matches rescheduled without beginning play:
- No. 8 Daria Kasatkina vs. Varvara Gracheva
- Lucrezia Stefanini vs. Tatjana Maria
- No. 23 Zhang Shuai vs. Patricia Maria Tig
- Mayar Sherif vs. Magda Linette
- No. 27 Irina-Camelia Begu vs. Elizabeth Mandlik
- Lucia Bronzetti vs. Laura Siegemund
- No. 14 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia vs. Nuria Parrizas Diaz
- Sloane Stephens vs. Anastasia Potapova
Women’s matches rescheduled that started but not finished:
- Donna Vekic leads Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-2, 2-6, 6-6(5-1)
- Lauren Davis leads Danka Kovinic 1-6, 7-5, 4-1
- Claire Liu leads Madison Brengle 4-2
- Alison Riske-Amritraj leads Marketa Vondrousova 4-1
Men’s matches rescheduled without beginning play:
- Denis Kudla vs. Roman Safuillin
- Enzo Couacaud vs. Hugo Dellien
Men’s matches rescheduled that started but not finished:
- Thanasi Kokkinakis leads Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-2, 4-2
- John Isner leads Adrian Mandarin 7-6 (7-5), 3-4
- Brandon Holt leads Aleksander Vukic 6-4, 1-6, 4-2
- No. 24 Roberto Bautista Agut leads Jaoa Sousa 6-3, 6-1
- Ugh Humbert leads Richard Gasquet 2-1
- Emil Ruusuvuori leads Max Purcell 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-6
- Maxime Cressy leads Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (7-2), 7-5, 3-6, 2-2
- Michel Mmoh leads Laurent Lokoli 4-6, 2-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 3-1
