Reuters
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Tennis – Men’s Singles – Round 2 – Ariake Tennis Park – Tokyo, Japan – July 26, 2021. Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning his second round match against Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany REUTERS/Mike Segar
Reuters
Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Tennis – Men’s Singles – Round 2 – Ariake Tennis Park – Tokyo, Japan – July 26, 2021. Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning his second round match against Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany REUTERS/Mike Segar
The Tennis event at the Olympics is one of the sport?s most coveted titles. They aptly named it ?the golden slam?. The event has always been enthralling, bringing out some unexpected champions over the years.?
This year’s event has been no disappointment. The event has been jam-packed with action, unexpected defeats, and shock exits. It has also caused a lot of raised eyebrows, especially from the tennis athletes.
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Tokyo 2020 Olympics – Tennis – Men’s Singles – Round 3 – Ariake Tennis Park – Tokyo, Japan – July 28, 2021. Daniil Medvedev of the Russian Olympic Committee reacts during his third round match against Fabio Fognini of Italy REUTERS/Mike Segar
Unfavorable conditions at the Tokyo Olympics 2020
It is currently summer in Japan and temperatures reach a high of around 90 degrees Fahrenheit and around 68% humidity. Athletes are not used to these highly unfavorable weather conditions.?
On the first day of the archery qualification round, a Russian archer fainted as the heat became too much for her to bear. Similar situations have also occurred on the Tennis court where athletes would feel weak and dehydrated.?
Daniil Medvedev was one of the first athletes to publicly speak out about the unfavorable conditions. He told reporters he would get hit by sunstroke or start to feel cramped up. Novak Djokovic was another athlete who spoke out against the unfavorable conditions.
You do have to wonder what @paulabadosa is thinking right now…
— Andy Schooler (@SchoolerSport) July 28, 2021
Things took a turn for the worse when athletes started fainting and retiring due to the heat. Spain?s Paula Badosa started to lose consciousness and was forced to retire from the game.
Daniil Medvedev suffered a similar setback and he was heard telling the umpire, ?I can finish the match, but I can die. If I die, who will take responsibility??
International Tennis Federation changes match timings?
With stars like Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev pressurizing the ITF to change the match timings, they had no choice but to heed their demands.
The World No. 1 finally got his demands answered as the ITF has decided to play the matches 4 hours later than the usual time.
In the interests of player health and welfare and following extensive consultation, Tokyo 2020 Olympic Tennis Event matches will begin at 3pm JST from Thursday 29 July#Tokyo2020 #tennis pic.twitter.com/skqh9ALRIV
— ITF Media (@ITFMedia) July 28, 2021
Bravo @DjokerNole 👏🏻thanks for always fighting for the players 🙏🏻 https://t.co/0t6MTOTnTS
— Donna Vekic (@DonnaVekic) July 28, 2021
They will now play the matches at 3 pm local time, instead of 11 am. Tennis athletes came out to thank Novak Djokovic for fighting for the players. Many people also wondered if they have made the change too late for athletes like Paula Badosa.?
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