“It was very hard to breathe”: Australian Open participants unhappy about matches in smoke from forest fires

The first Grand Slam tournament of the season, the Australian Open, started in Melbourne. Matches of the main draw will begin only on Monday, but now the main stars go to the courts of Melbourne Park, and the players below the rank are fighting in the qualification. This year’s competition is hindered by unprecedented forest fires, causing tennis players to undermine their health and the Australian Open is in danger of collapse.

The state of Victoria, whose capital is Melbourne, was among the victims of natural disasters. The fire did not reach the city itself, but these days we have a dense veil of smoke. State authorities assess the current air condition in Melbourne as “hazardous to health” and do not expect a change in the situation until January 16th. Despite such a difficult situation, the organizers of the Australian Open almost did not change anything in the schedule, postponing the start of the qualification for only an hour.

As a result, many of those who went out to fight for getting into the main draw repeatedly appealed to doctors for help and complained about feeling unwell. Worst of all was Slovenia Dalila Yakupovich. The 82nd racket of the world could not finish the game with Swiss Stefanie Fogele. In the end of the second set, she literally collapsed on the court due to breathing problems and refused to continue the fight.

“The whole match was very difficult for me to breathe. After 20 minutes, I began to experience difficulties. I could not make more than three hits, running left and right along the court, because an asthma attack started. Usually I don’t have it. I could not breathe, I could not walk. She simply sank to the ground because she could not stand on her feet. Then, due to a lack of air, I had a panic attack. For me it was one of the most difficult matches, ”CNN quotes Yakupovich.

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

Slovenka criticized the organizers of the tournament for allowing tennis players to play in such difficult conditions, when it was recommended that residents of Melbourne not go out at all.

“We are all furious and disappointed because we thought they would treat us with great attention. My opponent after the game admitted that she also had problems. Not as serious as mine, but she, too, could not breathe normally. Nobody wants to play in such conditions, then to experience similar problems. The situation is abnormal. We discussed this with the organizers, but they said that they checked the air condition and everything is in order, ”Yakupovich added.

Health problems were also felt on Tuesday by Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, who had the opportunity to qualify for the match with Chinese woman Yu Xiaodi. In the course of the meeting, Bouchard called a doctor and complained that she had “spikes in her lungs” due to bad air. Yu Xiaodi in the third set had enough strength only to serve from below, as a result of which she won only one game. Australian Bernard Tomic, while playing with American Denis Kudla, also requested a medical time out and inhaled.

The poor air condition also prevented an exhibition match with the participation of Maria Sharapova and German Laura Siegemund in one of the suburbs of Melbourne. At the end of the second set, the umpire referee consulted the tennis players and decided to stop the game so as not to put their health at extra risk.

“We have been on the court for two hours. In terms of health, the judge's decision was correct. I felt that the cough was about to begin. When I heard how Laura complained to the referee about the same problems, I thought that it was good that I was not the only one. After that, the judge came down and told us to play only one game, ”The New York Times quoted Sharapova as saying.

What an incredible game between @MariaSharapova and @laurasiegemund 👏 after speaking to both players, it was decided to call the match early. What an amazing effort by both. Final score @laurasiegemund vs @MariaSharapova 7-6, 5-5. # KooyongClassic # AgBioEnpic.twitter.com / 2GLpaqz7gA

The following matches of the first round of qualification should take place at the Australian Open on Wednesday, although the forecast for this day remains disappointing. One of their participants, Mandy Minelle from Luxembourg, believes that the competition should be postponed until the air condition improves, and the organizers have such an opportunity.

“I am shocked that the qualifications have already begun. But what about the health of those who work in the tournament, especially the guys who serve the balls? I don’t understand why they are in such a hurry to play matches today. To complete the qualification, we still have the whole Saturday and Sunday. If everything is so bad, we are used to holding two matches a day, and in the worst case, we can reduce men's matches to two victories in sets. There are solutions! ”Wrote Minella on Twitter.

The fifth racket of the world Elina Svitolina from Ukraine did not stand aside from the problem. She posted on her Twitter schedule according to which the concentration of fine dust PM2.5 in Melbourne exceeds safe limits for health.

Why do we need to wait for something bad to happen to do an action 🤷🏼‍♀️🥵 # Melbournepic.twitter.com / bYpXyQAfKe

A week earlier, the organizers of the Australian Open claimed that if the tennis players had nothing to breathe, they would be taken away from the outdoor courts and allowed to hold matches on eight indoor and three with a retractable roof, where the air conditioning and air purification system would work. But, apparently, such a plan applies only to matches of the main round. Fortunately for all participants in the Australian Open, rain is expected in Melbourne by the end of the week, which should correct the situation for the better.