The heatwave that is hitting Italy and some European countries these days has also had very strong consequences on Roland Garros. At the end of a match lasting four hours and 41 minutes, in the second round of the tournament, Jakub Mensik collapsed on court, with temperatures at that moment reaching 35 degrees. The world number 27 managed to beat Mariano Navone in the fifth set, but the heatstroke he suffered has opened up serious reflections on the risks for tennis players due to the heat.
Mensik’s collapse to the ground after the victory against the Argentine initially seemed like a release after a match that was at times endless. Navone approached the middle of the court to greet him and congratulate him, but the Czech could not move. Only at that point was it understood that the matter was more serious than it seemed. Mensik remained lying down for several minutes and was assisted by several members of the medical staff, who applied ice packs to his head, neck and chest. The Czech then tried to get back up, but given the difficulties he was taken to the locker room in a wheelchair. «When I hit the last winning shot, the emotions vanished and my body shut down», said the tennis player. Who did not particularly appreciate the decision by the Slam’s leadership to play at 1.30 pm, when the temperature reaches its peak: «It’s madness to play in this weather, especially under the sun», he continued. «And to stay out there for more than four and a half hours is simply crazy». Mensik then told the media that he had immediately undergone an ice bath as soon as he arrived in the locker room, with the aim of recovering for the match against Alex de Minaur scheduled for tomorrow, Friday 29 May.
The match between Mensik and Navone was played on the outer courts of Roland Garros, devoid of shade. But even those who did not play under the sun, like Novak Djokovic, complained about the high temperatures. Arguing in the post-match press conference that scheduling matches in the late evening could be «an option to consider» as a possible alternative in case of forecasts of extreme weather conditions. The Serb beat Frenchman Valentin Royer in four sets and will face the young Brazilian talent João Fonseca tomorrow. Several complaints also came from other tennis players: Casper Ruud, at the end of his match, declared that he felt «like a zombie» and that he had feared heatstroke given that the temperature was steadily above 30 degrees. The same was said by Marta Kostyuk (the world number 15): «It’s hot and very dry. I always had the feeling of needing to drink, of wanting to drink more and more. It was tough».
To date no Roland Garros match has ever been suspended due to excessive heat. The Slam’s organisers monitor the temperature through two sensors capable of establishing the WGBT index (a scientific parameter used to measure the thermal stress undergone by the human body when it is exposed to direct sunlight): one on the main court and another on court 14. Upon reaching a certain threshold, a 10-minute break can be introduced after the second set of women’s matches and the third of men’s matches. The suspension of matches is instead provided for in case of an index higher than 32.2 degrees. The big names of tennis had already complained some time ago about matches scheduled at times that were too hot. In 2025, at the Shanghai tournament, Holger Rune went in very hard: «Why doesn’t the ATP have a rule on heat? Do you want a player to die on court?». Statements that had caused a stir and that had led in a short time to the launch of a new package of rules. Directives that apply, however, to ATP tournaments and not to the Slams (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open), which have similar parameters but a different set of rules. The main difference is that in these four tournaments the matches last much longer, since they go to the best of five sets. And the players are therefore forced to tolerate extreme weather conditions for longer. The heat, then, could be a factor not to be underestimated for this Roland Garros. Not only in the matches, but also in the minds of several tennis players, already battling with the Slams over prize money not considered fair relative to the revenue.