With extreme heat a growing challenge for summer sport, University of Sydney researchers are聽working聽with Tennis Australia to develop evidence-based tools to keep players safe聽at the Australian Open聽鈥撀燼nd聽to聽help everyone better manage extreme heat聽when playing sport.
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Calculate your personalised heat health risk
As the home of the annual Australian Open tournament, January in Melbourne is synonymous with tennis聽鈥撀燼nd heat.
鈥淭he Australian Open is held in the hottest month of the year,鈥 says Carolyn Broderick, Chief Medical Officer at Tennis Australia.聽鈥淢y job is to聽ensure players are healthy and safe on the court.鈥澛
According to Professor Ollie Jay, Director of the University of Sydney鈥檚 Heat and Health Research Centre (HHRC), 2024 was the hottest year on record. Globally, the average person experienced an extra 16 days of dangerous heat, alongside a record number of聽20聽heatwave days.
Understanding how heat affects the body聽鈥撀燼nd how to manage it聽鈥撀爏its at the heart of the HHRC鈥檚 work. Their research spans public health, community sport and elite competition, with the Australian Open聽one聽example of science in action.
鈥淲hat heat does is place enormous strain on the body,鈥 Ollie explains. 鈥淎s core temperature rises, the heart has to work harder, blood pressure can drop, kidneys come under stress, and if someone can鈥檛 cool down, the consequences can be serious.鈥
That risk is amplified for athletes pushing their bodies to the limit.
鈥淪o,聽we need ways of monitoring heat and providing clear strategies for dealing with heat stress,鈥 Ollie says.
It takes the guesswork out of extreme heat.
Director, Heat and Health Research Centre
That鈥檚聽where the Environmental Measurement Unit (or EMU as it is affectionately known as) comes in.聽
鈥淭he EMU was developed by the Heat and Health Research Centre as a way of measuring the environmental conditions during our field studies,鈥澛爏ays Megan Tiong, an exercise physiologist and PhD candidate at the HHRC.聽
鈥淚t聽measures four key environmental factors聽鈥 air, temperature, humidity, radiant heat of the sun and wind speed聽in real time.鈥
There are presently five EMU across the Australian Open tournament grounds at Melbourne Park.
鈥淲e have five of them at the Australian Open,鈥 Carolyn says, 鈥渏ust to reflect the different conditions that we have around the site,聽and they are monitoring continuously throughout the competition.聽That data feeds directly into our decision-making.鈥
The information from the EMUs underpins the Australian Open Heat Stress Scale聽鈥撀燼 simple, five-point system developed by Tennis Australia in collaboration with University of Sydney researchers.
鈥淭he scale is evidence-based and easy to understand,鈥 Carolyn says. 鈥淎t each level, we know exactly what action to take聽鈥撀爓hether that鈥檚 additional cooling strategies, extended breaks, or stopping play altogether.鈥
At higher levels of heat stress, mandatory breaks are introduced between sets. At the most extreme level, outdoor matches are聽suspended,聽and roofs are closed on indoor courts.
鈥淔ortunately, we鈥檝e had no cases of heat stroke at the Australian Open,鈥 Carolyn says. 鈥淏ut we do see milder heat-related illness like headaches,聽dizziness聽and nausea. This system has helped us reduce incidents and feel confident that player safety comes first.鈥
Carolyn Broderick and Megan Tiong using the Environmental Measurement Unit (EMU) on a tennis court.
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While the Australian Open may be聽one聽high-profile application聽of the HHRC team鈥檚 research,聽it聽has much broader relevance.
鈥淗eat stress can affect everyone differently and have different risks for each person,鈥 says Megan.聽鈥淚n聽Australia, we all live in extreme heat during the summer,聽so it affects everyone.
鈥淗eat stress just makes your perceived effort more, so you鈥檙e not able to push yourself to your limit as much, which can also be a protective mechanism in keeping yourself safe in heat.鈥
Inside the HHRC鈥檚 climate chambers, researchers recreate heatwave conditions with precise control over temperature and humidity. This allows participants to test different cooling strategies and helps the team聽identify聽what really works.聽
鈥淥ur climate chamber can mimic different heatwaves and settings you might experience when you鈥檙e playing聽sport聽and聽allowing us to test different populations and cooling strategies,鈥澛燤egan says.
The聽HHRC鈥檚 work has already influenced heat-health guidelines across Australia and internationally, including adoption by the World Health Organization. Tools developed with聽sporting bodies are now also being used by other codes, from cricket to rugby, and adapted for community sport.
鈥淓very sport should have an extreme heat policy,鈥 Carolyn says. 鈥淎nd these tools can help everyday Australians make safer decisions too.
鈥淎t the heart of everything we do in player medical at the Australian Open is player safety and health and I think this system has enabled us to feel confident the聽in the area of extreme heat, we鈥檙e doing just that.鈥