Climate change: 'A player is going to die,' says Medvedev after facing ‘brutal heat’ in U.S. Open

As New York baked in a heatwave, Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev labored to secure his place in the U.S Open championship semi-finals, overcoming not just Andrey Rublev but the brutal heat of the city.

Despite getting the victory, Medvedev was not happy about playing in such difficult conditions. In the third set, while wiping off his sweat, he complained into the camera, saying, "You cannot imagine, one player is going to die and then they're going to see."

The Copernicus Climate Change Service released data that showed that August 2023 was the hottest on record, just like July and June before it, making this summer the world’s hottest ever. The same seems to continue for September.

During the match, Rublev could be seen gasping for breath, keeled over, and hands on his knees. Medvedev had his breathing checked by a doctor, and also puffed on an inhaler during a changeover in the second set. The breaks came fast and furious.

Temperatures have routinely crossed 32.2°C and humidity exceeded 50%, in New York this week, as per reports. While the temperature may not sound too high, the high humidity makes it feel much hotter, which then worsens while playing on the court.

"The only good thing I see in these conditions is that both suffer," said Medvedev. "Usually there is not one that suffers so it's tough for both of us.

"Honestly, at the end of the first set I kind of couldn't see the ball anymore," said Medvedev as quoted by Reuters. "I kind of played with sensations.”

"Sometimes before the points I was like 'wow it seems like he cannot run anymore' ... but he was there all the time and I was like 'damn, when is he going to be tired?'," said Medvedev. "But actually we were tired all the time. So yeah, brutal conditions and super tough to win."

According to climate scientists, the impact of heat is only going to get worse next year, making 2024 possibly the hottest ever recorded. The predictions are based on the impact of the El Niño event that is gathering strength at present and is likely to cause global temperatures to hit record levels in the coming five years.

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