It's about survival": Rinderknech denounces extreme conditions in Shanghai

Soaked spectators, breathless players, suffocating heat: Arthur Rinderknech describes the hell he's experiencing in Shanghai, a tournament where, according to him, "self-control becomes vital."

During the Cincinnati Masters 1000 in August, Arthur Rinderknech had criticized the match scheduling, played under scorching sun and high humidity. The French player had to throw in the towel during his third round, victim of a collapse on the court.

A few weeks later, Rinderknech reiterates his comments but this time in Shanghai, where the very hot and humid playing conditions are once again weighing on players' health.

He spoke about the subject for L'Équipe, with strong words:

"It's difficult to breathe on the court. I don't know if people realize it on television, but it's complicated from the warm-up. There's crazy humidity, worse than in the United States in summer. Plus, we know there's a lot of pollution in big cities in China and that can't help.

There's this cloud cover that crushes everything. But when the sun comes out, we quickly go above 30 degrees. All this makes it difficult. [...] This week, it's a tennis tournament, but there's a part of the battle that has nothing to do with tennis. It's about survival, about management to find ways to prevail.

Self-control is important. You have to know how to optimize your body. When I look at the spectators with people soaked in the stands, even though they're used to it, I tell myself we're not the only ones having difficulties.