Everything except a scoop: global warming threatens major international sporting events. Ultimately, it could well force the authorities to shake up their timetable and their award criteria. The agency Associated Press took advantage of the US Open tennis tournament, currently being played in New York, to carry out a very in-depth study on the evolution of temperatures during the four Grand Slam tournaments. She measured the thermal comfort index, which takes into account air temperature, humidity, sunlight and wind, at the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open since 1988, the first year when the four tournaments brought together 128 players in the men's and women's draws. Collectively, maximum temperatures increased by almost 3 degrees. Not really spectacular. But the trend is strengthening and becoming alarming. Between 1988 and 1992, the “ heat stress threshold » (32 degrees) was reached on 7% of the days when Grand Slam matches took place. Between 2018 and 2022, the figure increased to 16%. The study also reveals that the tournament where the rise in temperatures is the strongest is the Australian Open, played at the start of the year in Melbourne. Since 1988, the average temperature has increased by more than 3,5 degrees.
