MELBOURNE: Roger Federer demanded better communication about air quality at the Australian Open Saturday after smoke from bushfires hit the tournament’s build-up, as officials announced new guidelines on pollution.
Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion, said a lack of information made matters worse for players who were forced to stay on the courts on Tuesday and Wednesday, when air quality in Melbourne was among the worst on the planet.
Slovenian Dalila Jakupovic was forced to retire during qualifying after a distressing coughing fit, while Britain’s Liam Broady claimed “multiple” players needed asthma medication.
“I think communication is key from the tournament to the people, to the media, to the fans, to the players, because you do hear it’s not safe to be outside, keep your pets inside, close your windows,” Federer said.
“You have court calls, then you look at the haze and everything, it doesn’t look good. How far are we from that threshold of playing, not playing?” World number six Stefanos Tsitsipas was another player who was troubled by the smog, saying he had difficulty breathing even after practising indoors in Melbourne. “I was coughing a lot, had troubles breathing for a couple of hours,” Tsitsipas said Saturday, while Canadian young gun Denis Shapovalov claimed “I wouldn’t play” if conditions deteriorated during the tournament. “I’m 20 years old, I don’t want to risk my life, risk my health being out there playing in this condition,” he added.
In the wake of the backlash, Australian Open organisers on Saturday unveiled a five-step air quality rating to determine when play should be halted, based on pollutants measured by monitoring stations throughout Melbourne Park. Play will be stopped if the particulate matter rating (PM2.5) -- the solid and liquid particles suspended in the air -- hits 200, or five on air quality scale. Between 97 and 200 -- a four rating -- will trigger a discussion between medical staff and officials about halting play, with the match referee able to suspend a match if he sees fit.