Tennis - Australian Open - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia - January 24, 2026 Russia's Karen Khachanov wipes his brow in front of empty seats during his third round match against Italy's Luciano Darderi REUTERS/Hollie Adams
MELBOURNE, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Players sweated under a blazing sun and fans lathered themselves with sunscreen at the Australian Open on Saturday as temperatures rose toward an expected 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) at Melbourne Park.
Play started an hour earlier to take advantage of the relative cool of the morning but conditions were already stifling as women's defending champion Madison Keys entered centre court for her third-round match at 10:30 a.m. (2330 GMT).
Used to hot conditions in Florida, the American needed only 75 minutes to complete a straightforward 6-3 6-3 win over unseeded Czech Karolina Pliskova.
"I was excited by the heat," she said on court after booking a fourth-round matchup with fellow American and friend Jessica Pegula, the sixth seed.
Pegula wrapped up her early match at Margaret Court Arena even quicker than Keys, taking down Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva 6-3 6-2.
"I didn't have to kind of kill myself today," said Pegula, also based in Florida.
"Luckily today everything worked out pretty well."
Amanda Anisimova, who also lives in Florida, beat compatriot Peyton Stearns 6-1 6-4 and the U.S. Open runner-up made sure the contest was wrapped up quickly, claiming victory in just 71 minutes.
"Just the fact that we had so many outdoor courts in the summer, it was always so hot, I hated training in the summer," Anisimova said.
"But you know what? At least it paid off a little bit. It's just great to be playing out here even when it's so hot, it's nice to have a challenge."
EXTREME HEAT POLICY
The Australian Open operates under an extreme heat policy that considers air temperature, radiant heat, wind speed and humidity to assess playing conditions, allowing officials to delay or suspend matches when thresholds are exceeded.
The tournament's five-point Heat Stress Scale was at 3.4 in the early afternoon when men's defending champion Jannik Sinner was playing American Eliot Spizzirri in the second match at Rod Laver Arena.
When it reaches four points, players can take longer breaks between sets. Five points means the suspension of matches on outside courts and closing the roofs of the main showcourts.
Organisers warned fans to bring hats, drink plenty of water and make use of misting fans scattered around Melbourne Park.
Sydney resident Sarah Gellatly covered herself in sunscreen from one of the dispensers just outside the Melbourne Park gates.
She said players would be concerned about battling each other during the hottest part of the day.
"It's really hot but if you're a player that's touring around the world every day, then they're used to the heat," she told Reuters.
Melbourne resident Mat Vonarx and his partner had the cheap "ground pass" tickets which give access to the outside courts and said they were ready to handle whatever the weather threw at them.
"We knew it was going to be very hot today but it's the tennis," Vonarx told Reuters on his first visit to the Grand Slam. "We're ready for it, we've brought plenty of water and we're good to go."
Vonarx said the players would just have to tough it out.
"It's going to be tough for any sport in this condition but they're professionals, they're going to do what they need to do to complete the game," he said.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne, Additional reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
