Takashi Sanada of Japan plays in the men's singles first round of wheelchair tennis at the Tokyo Paralympics on Aug. 27, 2021, at Ariake Tennis Park. The Centre Court roof was closed to protect players from the heat. (Kyodo)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo Paralympic wheelchair tennis matches on outdoor courts were delayed Friday due to intense heat in the Japanese capital, with a special policy aimed at protecting players triggered by the conditions.

       Organizers decided to suspend matches on all nine outdoor courts at Ariake Tennis Park, including some in the men's singles first round, as the temperature reached 33 C, a figure above what is considered safe on the heat stress index scale, at 11 a.m. Play was scheduled to start at that time.

       A match between Japan's Takashi Sanada and Carlos Anker of the Netherlands took place as planned, however, the players meeting under the center court roof on the opening day of the wheelchair tennis tournament.

       The International Tennis Federation has implemented an extreme weather policy with measures aimed at protecting the health of the players such as allowing them to take extra breaks or organizers to suspend matches. The policy was also triggered during the Olympics.

       Since some athletes with disabilities have trouble regulating their body temperature, heat stress index figures used for the Paralympics are stricter than those for the Olympics.

       During the Olympics, which ended Aug. 8, tennis matches were moved later in the day to protect the health of the players after some, including world No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia, were vocal about the challenge of playing in the heat and humidity of the Tokyo summer.

       The heat stress index, also known as the wet-bulb globe temperature, or WBGT, is a scale proposed in the United States in 1954 to prevent heat illness and recognized as a useful guideline for work and sports environments.

       It incorporates factors that significantly influence the impact of heat on the human body -- temperature, humidity and heat radiation.

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