John McEnroe believes the playing conditions at the ongoing US Open are ‘not humane’ following Daniil Medvedev’s on-court rant

John McEnroe addressed the USTA about the playing conditions at the US Open after the match between Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.

John McEnroe believes the playing conditions at the ongoing US Open are ‘not humane’ following Daniil Medvedev’s on-court rant

Daniil Medvedev (L) and John McEnroe (R) (Credits CNN and The Telegraph)

On Wednesday, John McEnroe addressed the USTA about the playing conditions at the US Open. McEnroe was at ESPN’s remote studio desk for the US Open in Flushing Meadows, New York.

McEnroe, James Blake, and Chris McKendry were discussing the conditions encountered by Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev earlier in the day in their quarterfinals match, which Medvedev won in straight sets. The Russian won the match, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, although even he was bothered by the extreme heat. He anticipated that one of the players would “die” as a result of the heat.

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McEnroe stated that the two’s playing conditions were “not humane in a way.” “These poor guys today … they looked like they’re going to fall over. It’s not humane in a way,” McEnroe said. “I’m sorry. Please, USTA, in the future, I think seriously we should close the roof.”

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McEnroe argues that the current conditions are not producing what tennis should eventually strive for: players playing at their best rather than slogging through a match at their worst. According to McEnroe, they should aim for “the best tennis player, not a war of attrition.”

The weather wasn’t quite as hot during the first week of the tournament, but it was around 93 degrees on Wednesday, with humidity. This resulted in some extraordinarily challenging playing conditions in the main stadium, which McEnroe believes should not be the case.

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A spectator faints at the US Open

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Madison Keys (Credits: The New Indian Express)

On Tuesday, the United States Tennis Association enacted a new regulation for the remainder of the tournament. To give additional sun protection for fans and participants, the organization partially closed the retractable Arthur Ashe Stadium roof, which is generally used to block out rain.

On Wednesday night, a quarterfinal match between Madison Keys and Marketa Vondrousova was delayed for eight minutes because a spectator in the grandstand required medical treatment. Keys arrived at the spectator’s location with two fresh towels and a bottle of water.

“Obviously not how you want to start a match, but I feel like in situations like that I can’t really do many things other than offer towels and water,” Keys said. “I mean, it just felt like the right thing to do.”

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