Tokyo Olympics tennis schedule changed as heat saps players & makes one say 'I could die'

The tennis schedule at the Tokyo Olympics has undergone a change after some controversial incidents that occurred owing to the scorching heat and humidity. Paula Badosa had to leave in a wheelchair after suffering a heatstroke which forced her to retire from her match against Czech Marketa Vondrousova.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced a change in schedule after citing the outcomes of Wednesday's, July 28, matches saying that the Tokyo 2020 Olympic tennis event matches will now begin at 3 PM JST (Japanese Standard Time) from Thursday, July 29, 2021.

"It's a shame to end my participation in this way. It's been a tough ask since day one. We tried to adapt as best we could but today my body hasn't held up as it needed to," Paula Badosa said.

Medvedev has an exhausting match with two medical timeouts

In another match, an exhausted Daniil Medvedev was lucky to escape without any damage and managed to win the match  6-2, 3-6, 6-2 against Italian Fabio Fognini. At one point, when the chair umpire inquired about his condition, Medvedev even replied "I'm fine, I can finish the match but I can die. If I die will the ITF take responsibility?"

After the match Medvedev said, "Even from the first set I didn’t feel good enough with my breathing. That’s why I called the physio, I felt like my diaphragm was blocked," he said, adding that he felt that it was the most humid day so far in Tokyo.

"And then on the second set, I just had darkness in my eyes, like between every point, I didn’t know what to do to feel better. Like I was bending over and I couldn’t get my breath together so I was ready to just fall down on the court," he added.

Djokovic also was one of the athletes to complain about the conditions

The matches were taking place at lunchtime when temperatures were soaring. Novak Djokovic is among the stars to have complained about the scheduling of matches during the day as well.

"I don't understand why they don't start matches at, say, 3 pm," he said after his opening match. "We still have seven hours to play. They have lights on all the courts," he added.

Medvedev was equally scathing in his first match, saying, "You feel you have weights on your shoulders because there's so much heat and humidity and stagnated air."

(Image Credits: AP)