Extreme heat at Roland Garros. Sima alarm: "Tennis players at high risk"

The extreme heat it is no longer an exceptional element in the outdoor sporting events: it is a health, organizational and medico-legal risk factor. ThereItalian Society of Environmental Medicine (Sima)recalls the risks faced by tennis players, ball boys, spectators and others after the extreme heat that hit France and the tennis tournament”Roland Garros” underway in Paris.

“In tennis, where matches can last hours, sun exposure, intermittent high-intensity effort, surfaces that accumulate heat, humidity, reduced ventilation and often insufficient recovery times add up. The risk concerns the tennis players, but also ball boys, referees, line judges, technical staff, security and spectators – explains the president Alessandro Miani – For environmental medicine, the tennis court must be considered a high exposure climatic microenvironment. It is not enough to measure the air temperature indicated by weather stations: it is necessary to evaluate the heat actually perceived in the field, integrating humidity, solar radiation, wind, available shade and surface material. The most correct indicator is the WBGTWet Bulb Globe Temperature, already used by ITF, ATP and several international tournaments to activate cooling breaks, game modifications or suspension of matches”.

“Tennis is a high-risk sport with intense heat for several reasons: the main ones health risks they are dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, syncope, heat stroke, rhabdomyolysis, acute kidney injury, reduction in cognitive and motor performance, increased risk of injury, sunburn and heat rash – continues Miani – Particular attention must be paid to young ball boys, and non-acclimatised athletes, veterans of travel or insufficient recovery are also more vulnerable. The risk increases with jet lag, reduced sleep, recent illnesses, medications, previous dehydration, poor adaptation to heat and close matches.”

Prevention and environmental medicine

Per Sima extreme heat in sport must be addressed as an issue of environmental medicine and primary prevention. Health protection cannot be left to the player’s individual perception or air temperature alone: ​​correct environmental indicators, clear protocols, staff training and cooling measures already in place before symptoms appear. In tennis, the question is no longer whether the heat can interfere with the match, but when the court becomes an unsafe environment for those who play, work or watch.