The 2025 Shanghai Masters is turning into quite the challenge, with sweltering heat and intense humidity pushing the world’s top tennis players to their limits, resulting in plenty of complaints and some players even pulling out. So, the tournament kicked off with a bit of drama, right? Twelve players decided to pull out before it even started, and that includes big names like Carlos Alcaraz and Jack Draper.

Then, things got really intense when Hungarian pro Marton Fucsovics actually collapsed during a match, telling the umpire, “I am dying.” Pretty chaotic, right? The most brutal assessment of the situation came from French player Arthur Rinderknech.

As reported by journalist Quentin Moynet on X, the 30-year-old Frenchman said, “It’s hard to breathe on the court. It’s tough right from the warm-up. There’s crazy humidity. There’s a part of the battle that has nothing to do with tennis. It’s about survival, about managing to find ways to prevail.”

For Rinderknech, the competition has gone beyond just sport; it’s really been about dealing with Shanghai’s humidity and the crazy heat the city has been experiencing. He noticed that even the folks in the stands were “soaked,” which just goes to show that everyone was dealing with the tough conditions together. However, Rinderknech definitely wasn’t the only one facing challenges. For sure, other competitors shared their frustrations too.

The Shanghai Masters is becoming a problem for many

A lot of players shared their thoughts about the atmosphere at the Shanghai Masters, and one of them was none other than Novak Djokovic. The Serbian talked about the hot and humid weather, saying, “It’s crazy humid, to be honest. I don’t recall the weather being so humid in China. I don’t remember the last time I played in humidity like this. It is what it is… It’s the same for me, my opponent, and every other player.”

So, what’s his plan to get through this weather? “You just have to accept it, deal with it. A lot of sweating. The laundry bills will be quite high this week, but that’s okay,” said the Serbian tennis star.

In a similar vein, defending champion Jannik Sinner shared his thoughts on the physical challenges, saying after his win that “you feel the physical fatigue much more” and that it takes “all the energy in your body to get through it.”

The mix of high humidity and excessive heat has really stirred things up, turning matches into tough physical marathons. As the tournament moves along, it seems like managing energy and staying calm under these tough conditions is becoming just as important as having raw tennis skills. This prestigious Shanghai Masters event is really turning into a true test of resilience.