In sports, we are mesmerized by great athletes who play in high-profile competitions, but we don’t always pay attention to the playing conditions. In junior tennis, here’s why we do.
This week tennis fans worldwide are watching veterans and newcomers, like Novak Djokovic and Christopher Eubanks, battle for glory at Wimbledon. Top American juniors are doing the same at the National Clay Court Championship, the American equivalent of Junior Roland Garros.
Every July, top nationally ranked players come to Florida to play under the watchful eyes of college scouts and brand sponsor representatives. That’s the good side of this story. The side I’ll tell here is about the conditions under which those juniors play.
The keywords in the last paragraph are “Florida in July.” South Florida is under an extreme heat advisory with heat index temperatures ranging from 105 to 109. Managing heat risks is critical in a period of rapid climate change, especially for young athletes. Yet, the USTA is doing almost nothing to ensure the safety of the players short of the warning on the tournament page, “Keep hydrating, bring a cooler with ice/washcloth to keep you cool during the day/match.”
In 2018, Novak Djokovic called for changes when he played in health-threatening heat against Gael Monfils. “Our sport has become an industry,” he said after playing for two hours and 45 minutes at 102 degrees. He’s right. Athlete welfare is paramount in a sport like tennis because it is not a team sport where player exchange is routine practice. Thankfully, Djokovic’s comments made a splash.
The AO Heat Stress Scale, based on research on the maximum heat stress an athlete can safely withstand, was introduced the following next year. Results were implemented, too. For example, at the 2022 National Clay Court Championships, 36 matches were suspended or unplayed due to illness in the 16’s boys division, and 59 were suspended/unplayed in the 18’s boys division.
It’s a hopeful sign. Players are routinely taken to local hospitals for heat-induced cramping or heat stroke in response to the stress of playing the sport in high-temperature situations. Moreover, the sport’s rules of engagement exacerbate the problem. For example, a junior player whose singles match lasts longer than three hours is only given 90 minutes of rest time before playing a same-day double match. That performance expectation is equivalent to running two marathons back to back, waiting 90 minutes, and then sprinting 1200 meters.
And while juniors play as amateurs, with relatively few transitioning to the pro ranks, the national junior tournament system in which they play is big business. Tournament directors collect an entry fee of $171.50 per player in each division. The Directors of the 16’s and 18’s boy’s divisions will bring in over $77,000 in entry fees for a one-week event, not to mention sponsorship revenue generated from companies like Publix, Waterdrop, Baptist Health, and local hotel commissions.
The easy answer would be to move the tournament out of Florida, but politics are involved when changing sites. For one thing, the Tournament Director of the National Clay Courts boys 16’s and 18’s is also the Chair of the USTA Junior Competition Committee, a small group of individuals determining the sanctioning of all competitive events.
What’s the bottom line? While we know that at least 50 U.S. athletes have died over the past half-century from heat stroke after falling ill on the field and that heat-related illnesses/deaths are preventable, we also know that people often need to be metaphorically grabbed by the lapels before change happens. Do we need a junior tennis player to drop dead on the court before the USTA acts responsibly?
Heaven help us if we do. That’s why now is the time to broaden the meaning of ‘Safe Play.’
