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ITF change Olympic tennis schedule ‘in interests of player health and welfare’


The International Tennis Federation (ITF) have announced a change to the Tokyo Olympic tennis playing schedule “due to increasing heat and humidity”.

Matches will now begin at 3pm local time (JST) from Thursday July 29, instead of the 11am start time which had been in force on the five days of the event so far.

Paula Badosa was forced to withdraw from her quarter-final match with Marketa Vondrousova today due to heat stroke, and had to leave the court in a wheelchair.

Several players, including Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Diego Schwartzman and Fabio Fognini, have questioned the playing schedule due to midday conditions.

“The decision to start matches at 3pm JST from Thursday is possible due to the outcomes of today’s matches across the five competitions being staged and the size of the player field, and is designed to further safeguard player health,” said the ITF in a statement.


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.