Over 20 matches were postponed after Tuesday’s wild weather with tournament organisers left scrambling to re-schedule contests across both the men’s and women’s draws. But what does the future forecast have in store for the Open in Melbourne?
Australian Open fixture pile up challenge navigated
Rain on Tuesday and Wednesday saw a number of matches postponed - some mid-match.
Persistent rain meant all play on the outside courts couldn’t be commenced at the scheduled morning start time. This continued for hours until organisers were forced to once again re-schedule matches with 16 doubles matches cancelled to cater for the singles draw.
A packed schedule followed, but that congestion is now seemingly over (for now).
Some rain is forecast for the weekend, but Melbourne Park appears to have escaped the worst of the weather.
Following a comfortable victory over Camila Osorio earlier in the day at Rod Laver Arena, world number one Iga Swiatek reflected on the wild weather that had disrupted the tournament so far.
“In Melbourne it’s usually sunny, except today and yesterday,” she joked.
“There’s nothing I think the tournament organisers can do, but I’m surprised that they didn’t put yesterday’s matches earlier today on the stadiums. But I don’t know how it works, honestly.”
On Tuesday, play was actually halted for over three hours though due to extreme heat as the AO Heat Stress Scale registered a maximum reading of five which forced the players off court.
MORE: Australian Open heat policy - When are matches suspended?
However, despite tournament organisers attempting to re-schedule matches, plenty have been left unimpressed with the lack of notice about new times for matches.
What is the weather forecast in Melbourne during the Australian Open?
According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, there may be some reprieve coming with only a minimal amount of rain forecast across the weekend before a possible storm could occur during the beginning of next week.
