Świątek Rebounds as 91.4 Degrees Hit Roland-garros Matches 2026
Day 2 of roland-garros matches 2026 was played in 91.4-degree heat, and the temperature stayed there into the evening. Players were taking ice bags between points while fans in the walkways got real-time court-capacity updates for the first time at Roland Garros.
Świątek and the heavier balls
Iga Świątek said the conditions were different when she first arrived in Paris. The four-time French Open winner said the balls were heavier in cooler weather and that control felt easier then, adding: “You could put your whole body and power into the ball, and you would still feel like you controlled it.”
The weather changed the way the day played out for more than one match. A ballkid needed assistance after feeling dazed at the end of a point during Andrey Rublev’s win over Ignacio Buse, a sharper sign of how the heat was being felt on court.
Rublev, Ruud and the heat
Rublev, the No. 11 seed, had enough left to finish his match, but Casper Ruud’s path was far less clean. The No. 15 seed was two sets up and serving for the match against Roman Safiullin before losing the next two sets, then recovered quickest to win in five sets after Safiullin experienced physical issues of his own.
That swing fit the day’s wider pattern. The heat pushed players into shorter recoveries, more obvious strain and more frequent use of ice bags during changeovers, while the added walkway boards gave spectators a better read on whether a court was full before they moved in.
Fans near Court 7
The crowd felt it too. Romuald Pattier summed up the pressure from the sidelines: “It’s harder for the players than the fans.” Near Court 7, Nawfel Barah was blunter: “In the heat, that’s not ideal for a tennis life.”
Anna Bondár nearly beat Elina Svitolina for the third consecutive match at the French Open, another reminder that the day’s conditions did not just slow play — they also turned matches into survival tests. For anyone heading back to Roland Garros, the first reading on the day now matters before the first ball is struck.
