As sporting events go, the French Open, also known as Roland Garros, is usually a mild and sunny affair. Throughout the opening rounds of 2025\u2019s tournament, temperatures fell squarely in the 60 degree Fahrenheit range, a perfectly agreeable conditions for players and spectators alike.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s French Open, however, happens to be taking place during one of Europe\u2019s worst springtime heat waves on record. Countries like France, the UK, Spain, and Germany have all notched record highs for the month of May as climate change fuels a massive heat dome<\/a> \u2014 a situation turning the normally pleasant tennis championship into a hellish mess of sweat and red-hot clay.<\/p>\n As noted by CNN<\/a>, every player is feeling the heat as France endures daily highs in the 90s, hotter than average temperatures in July.<\/p>\n After securing a victory in a four-hour contest with the Russian Roman Safiullin, Norwegian tennis star Casper Ruud told the BBC<\/a> he was shambling around in a heat-induced daze. Ruud took multiple medical breaks throughout the match, covering himself with cooling towels, while both players took an extended break after the fourth set.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like it was a bit of a kind of heatstroke feeling,\u201d Ruud explained. \u201cI experienced something similar some years ago when I played in Washington DC and I had to retire in the third set\u2026 that\u2019s the only time I had that same feeling as I had today in the fourth set where I felt at times really dizzy, really tired and walking around like a zombie almost.\u201d<\/p>\n Days later, Czech star Jakub Men\u0161\u00edk collapsed on the court after winning a nearly five-hour contest against Argentinian Mariano Navone. Though his opponent ran over to congratulate Men\u0161\u00edk and help him up, the Czech player didn\u2019t budge, prompting medical staff to dart over with ice packs and a wheelchair to help him off the court.<\/p>\n Men\u0161\u00edk later told sports press<\/a> his body \u201cjust turned off,\u201d as temperatures as high as 91.2 degrees Fahrenheit baked the city of light \u2014\u00a0the lowest daily high<\/a> in Paris over the past five days.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s insane to play in this weather and especially in front of the Sun, to be there for more than four and a half hours is just insane,\u201d the Czech player said. (Men\u0161\u00edk was penalized at multiple points for taking too long to cool himself off during breaks in play, losing his first serve twice as a result.)<\/p>\n As Front Office Sports notes<\/a>, the Roland Garros is regarded among the cooler of the four Grand Slams. That\u2019s especially so compared to the Australian and US Opens, which are held in the dog days of their respective hemispheres\u2019 summers.<\/p>\n Given the extreme heat expected once summer begins and El Ni\u00f1o settles in<\/a>, those tournaments could make Roland Garros look like a picnic on the Champ de Mars.<\/p>\n