Heat Hits 91.4 Degrees as French Open Scores Turn Physical
French Open scores on Day 2 were shaped by 91.4-degree heat that held through the evening at Roland Garros, turning early-round matches into an endurance test. Players reached for ice bags on changeovers while fans searched for water and shade as the day wore on.
Roland Garros Heat Builds
At Court 7, the queue wrapped around the walls while the court was listed as 98 percent full, and digital boards above the walkways showed how packed each court had become. Nawfel Barah, waiting in line there, said, "In the heat, that’s not ideal for a tennis life."
Romuald Pattier, a fan from Normandie, drew a sharper line between the conditions on court and in the stands. "It’s harder for the players than the fans," he said on Day 2 at Roland Garros, even as spectators stood underneath shower sprinklers and lined up to fill water bottles.
Iga Świątek Reads the Balls
Iga Świątek said before arriving in Paris that the balls felt heavier when the temperature was lower. "You could put your whole body and power into the ball, and you would still feel like you controlled it," she said, a reminder that the day’s heat changed more than the comfort level for spectators.
That shift in conditions showed up across the draw. No. 11 seed Andrey Rublev beat Ignacio Buse, but the match also brought a worrying moment when a ballkid required assistance after feeling dazed at the end of a point. No. 15 seed Casper Ruud went two sets up and served for the match against Roman Safiullin before losing the next two sets and recovering to win in five.
Bondár Pushes Svitolina
The heat sat alongside tighter results elsewhere on Monday, where Anna Bondár nearly beat Elina Svitolina. Bondár, the Hungarian world No. 57, pushed a five-time quarterfinalist to the edge, and Svitolina again had to work through a long match after previously knocking her out of the U.S. Open in the first round.
Day 2 left Roland Garros with a simple read for anyone still in the tournament: the scoreline matters, but the temperature is part of the contest now. Players who can manage the pace of the ball, the bounce, and the physical strain in the next round will have a cleaner path through Paris than those still chasing recovery after this one.
