Wednesday's Hottest Day in Wimbledon's History
At 16:55 this Wednesday, the meteorological observatory of Kew Gardens, the closest to the All England Club (District SW 19) in the London area, recorded 35.7 degrees Celsius: officially, and according to the British Meteorological Service's Twitter account, this is the hottest day in the tournament's history.
Gender Discrimination in Wimbledon's Heat Policy
In relation to the heat, Wimbledon maintains a discrimination... favorable to women in this case, allowing female players to have a ten-minute break between the second and third sets when the temperature exceeds 30.1 degrees Celsius... and certain temperature indexes in the air, on the court, and relative humidity are also met.
This is what is called 'heat stress'. This rule is only implemented at the instance of the women's tour (WTA), without being applied in men's matches, and has been put into practice only a couple of times, in 2006 and 09. "There is no similar rule for men on the ATP Tour," recalls the Championship's head referee, Andrew Jarrett, in an official statement.
Child Collapses at Wimbledon
As a result of this extreme heat, a ballboy from the Wimbledon tennis tournament had to be attended to by medical staff today after collapsing due to the heat.
"The ballboy from court 17 has been treated and feels much better. We wish him a speedy recovery," tweeted the Grand Slam organization.
The young boy collapsed during the match between the American John Isner and the Australian Matthew Ebden in the second round.
Most players requested ice towels during breaks in their matches due to the high temperatures recorded in the British capital.
"I don't remember such a hot day at Wimbledon," said former tennis player Tracy Austin, now a commentator for the BBC.