Grand Slam in equatorial region?

Tennis ball


Recently I watched a US Open tennis match on tv where a woman tennis player was trying very hard to close out an energy sapping match (over 2 hours at that time) and at one point, she seems to be retching.

The commentators attributed her physcial ailment to the heat and humidity, which it seems are 'higher' than usual at that time. I was thinking of temperature along the line of maybe at least 35 degree celcius but I was surprised to hear later from them that the temperature was a mere 28 degree celcius (considered coolish in Malaysia and Singapore) and the humidity level was only 60% (whereas normal humidity level in Malaysia and Singapore is easily 70%).

Of course the length of the match matters. When I played tennis (singles, not doubles) for even half and hour in Malaysia or Singapore, I was already panting and needing a break. However, in US Open, bear in mind that they have a few minutes break after every 2 or 3 points and a much longer break after a set.

Hmmm I wonder whether this could be one reason there's no Grand Slam championship in the equatorial region? Players will be dropping like flies.

PS: My first guess of why there's no such championship in the region is the prize money :)

Comments

William said…
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Anonymous said…
may be the players are experiencing the urban heat island effect cuz NYC does have more buildings than any cities, rite?
anyways, it's suicidal to have a grand slam in equatorial country like m'sia, heck even i can't stand the heat and i'm local!
i'm not following US open this year as justine henin is no longer playing, and fedex is not as dominant as he was. sigh...
Jaded Jeremy said…
Anonymous,
If it's held in the equatorial region, the first thing they should change is the number sets i.e. from best of 5 to best of 3 for men. Women's matches have always been best of 3 and so that can be status quo.
Anonymous said…
or just make it a fully indoor grand slam and carpet as the surface, cuz all the other majors are outdoors and as far as i know, there are no majors held on carpet. it used to be that season's ending is supposed to be on carpet way back in the 90s, but now it's all hard court...sigh.
Jaded Jeremy said…
Anoymous,
Isn't there a tennis tournamenet at Paris (not French Open) that's indoor and carpeted?
Anonymous said…
yeah, but that's a non-premier event, sadly, most organisers are not keen on carpet surfaced tournaments.

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