Wednesday's qualifying game for the Australian Open was canceled during the morning, local time. All outdoor training was also stopped.

The reason is the bad air which, due to the fires in the country's southeastern parts, is over the city.

The organizers say that they, together with the Australian metrological authority BOM, constantly monitor the air quality and can stop play even later in the day.

The head of the state of Victoria's health department, Brett Sutton, does not think the measures are sufficient to ensure players' health, but states in a statement that it is not he who decides the issue and that he understands that other aspects, not least financial ones, play into the decision to play.

- It's not me who has to make the final decision, but we try to give the best advice on the impact on the players we can give, he says according to ABC Sport.

Dalila Jakupovic was forced to break qualifying match - due to bad air (14 January 2020)

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BOM stated on Wednesday that the air - which on Tuesday was said to be the worst on the entire planet - would be better from Wednesday afternoon. Cooler weather and long-awaited rain should then help to disperse a large part of the fire smoke.

Even during Tuesday, qualifying and training were canceled during the morning. When the game resumed, several players complained about the smoke.

One player, Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic, was helped by the court after being forced to give up his match against Stefanie Vogele, Switzerland. Canadian Eugenie Bouchard took a medical timeout in her qualifying match against You Xiaodi and said she had a chest pain. However, she was able to return and win the match.

The organizers state that the game can provisionally resume during the afternoon, local time. Among the players who would qualify during the day are the Swedes Johanna Larson and Elias Ymer, who meet Polish Urszula Radwanska and Emilio Gomez of Ecuador respectively.
Those matches were moved to on Thursday.

If the air quality is too poor due to fire smoke, referees can stop the matches, just as they do in extreme heat or rain. Melbourne Park also has three large roofed arenas and there are eight other indoor courts, so the organizer does not expect any major delays in the game schedule due to fire smoke.

The main tournament starts on Monday.