Organisers at the Australian Open have been forced to revise the tournament timetable for a second occasion within four days as Melbourne braces for scorching conditions on Tuesday.
Forecasters predict temperatures will soar to 42C, prompting officials to implement protective measures for players and staff alike.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe heat warning covering the entire state of Victoria.
Saturday saw play halted on uncovered courts for nearly five hours after the tournament’s heat stress scale reached its maximum threshold of five, with thermometers approaching 40C.
Players have already been left feeling the heat in Melbourne this month
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Ball boys and girls will rotate more frequently and receive extended recovery periods between shifts.
Wheelchair competitions featuring British defending champions Alfie Hewett, Gordon Reid and Andy Lapthorne have been pushed back to Wednesday as a precautionary measure.
Meanwhile, action on the outside courts has been brought forward to 9am local time, two hours earlier than the standard schedule.
Junior players will bear the brunt of these conditions, with matches scheduled on courts lacking the protection of retractable roofs.
BBC Sport’s tennis correspondent Russell Fuller noted the particular challenges facing younger competitors: “Do you know who suffers the most?
The Australian Open has already seen major changes to its schedule due to the heat
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“The junior players. They are trying to play two junior matches at 09:00, before coming back at 18:30 and hoping it will cool down.”
Lapthorne has drawn attention to the heightened risks facing wheelchair competitors in such brutal temperatures.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, the 35-year-old defending quad wheelchair men’s doubles champion explained the unique physiological challenges: “There are players within our category that can’t sweat if they’ve got a spinal cord injury.”
He added: “They don’t have the ability to cool down, so it can be quite dangerous if they’re in really extreme heat.”
The British player also described his own experiences with cramping during matches: “I’ve had [cramp] in my forearms before because we’re pushing a wheelchair as well as hitting the ball and once that gets hold you, it can be very difficult to stop.”
The Rod Laver Arena has a retractable roof and air conditioning
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The four singles quarter-finals will proceed as planned on Rod Laver Arena and Margaret Court Arena, both equipped with retractable roofs and air-conditioning systems that enable play to continue in cooler conditions.
World number ones Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka are among those scheduled to compete on these covered courts.
Tournament officials have yet to confirm whether the roofs will be closed from the outset of Tuesday’s play.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner acknowledged he benefited from Saturday’s heat intervention, admitting he “got lucky with the heat rule” after struggling with cramp during his third-round victory over Eliot Spizzirri.
