Ice-wrapped towels and spraying mists of water were used to cool down tennis players as they sweltered through the blistering heat at the Australian Open.
Temperatures reached 69C at the court in Melbourne on Thursday forcing players to cool down any way possible.
Tennis fans also struggled with the intense heat inside the arena while the rest of the city sweltered through 42C.
Spraying mists of water were used to cool down everyone at the Australian Open Thursday
Temperatures reached 69C at the court at Melbourne Park forcing players, including Frenchman Gael Monfils (pictured) to cool down any way possible
Croatia’s Donna Vekic (pictured) was one of many players using ice-wrapped towels to cool off
The city reached temperatures of 40C which affected some tennis fans during the day
One person needed medical attention during the heat of the day at the Australian Open
‘The health of our players is of paramount concern, but we need to be consistent with the outside courts so some don’t get an unfair advantage,’ Australian Open tweeted.
‘We are constantly monitoring conditions. Let’s hope it cools down!’
The Australian Open extreme heat policy will come into effect if ambient temperatures exceed 40C and the wet bulb globe temperature exceeds 32.5C.
Day four of the open attracted more than 38,000 people which made it 10,000 less than the previous days, according to The Age.
Novak Djokovic beat Gael Monfils at the Rod Laver Arena where the court temperature almost topped 70C.
Many tennis fans took to social media saying they struggled through the heat that hit Melbourne Park.
Tennis fans also struggled with intense heat inside the arena, making most of mist fans
The rest of Melbourne sweltered through 42C on Thursday during fourth day of tournament
Monfils (right) lost to Novak Djokovic (left) as temperatures hit extreme levels of 69C
Many tennis fans struggled through heat as did the players including Romanian Ana Bogdan (pictured
The unbearable temperatures hitting the arena come as the rest of the east coast swelters through a heat wave expected to last throughout the weekend
‘Next two days tomato ripening heat, also turned Aus Open players red,’ one person wrote.
‘No one should be expected to be out in this heat let alone trying to play elite tennis. The children must also be suffering subjected to chasing and returning balls,’ another said.
‘The extreme heat happens every year. Unfair to players,’ one person wrote.
The unbearable temperatures hitting the arena come as the rest of the east coast swelters through a heat wave.
Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide are expected to cook as the temperatures hit higher than 40C at the weekend and could last until Tuesday.
‘… we need to be consistent with the outside courts so some don’t get an unfair advantage,’ Australian Open tweeted (pictured Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro)
Day four of the open attracted more than 38,000 people, making it 10,000 less than the previous days (pictured Martin del Potro)