Tennis players and fans are facing more extreme weather at the four Grand Slams

Climate Central's analysis of weather data from 1970 to 2025 shows that all four Grand Slam tennis tournaments have experienced an increase in hot days (defined as $\ge$28°C). The French Open has warmed the fastest, with average temperatures rising by 3.5°C. Climate change is attributed with adding 160 extra hot days across the four events, with the U.S. Open seeing the highest absolute increase. Additionally, the frequency of heavy rain days ($\ge$10mm) has increased for the French Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon.

• The probability of experiencing a hot tournament day (defined as 28°C or higher) has increased for all four Grand Slams since 1970. At the U.S. Open, this probability rose from 49% in the 1970s to 67% in the 2020s, while at Wimbledon, it increased from 5% to 9% over the same period.
• The French Open has experienced the most rapid warming of the four tournaments, with average temperatures increasing by 3.5°C (0.64°C per decade) since 1970. Wimbledon's average tournament temperatures increased by 2.5°C in the same timeframe.
• Human-caused climate change added a total of 160 extra hot days to the four Grand Slam tournaments between 1970 and 2025, with 98 of those occurring at the U.S. Open. Climate change was responsible for 67% of all hot days at the French Open and 61% at Wimbledon during this period.
• The number of heavy rain tournament days—defined as days with precipitation of 10mm or more—has increased since 1970 for the French Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon. For example, heavy rain days at Wimbledon rose from 6 in the 1970-1979 period to 12 in the 2016-2025 period.

APA

Climate Central (2026). Tennis players and fans are facing more extreme weather at the four Grand Slams. https://www.climatecentral.org/report/tennis

Chicago

Climate Central. Tennis players and fans are facing more extreme weather at the four Grand Slams. 2026. https://www.climatecentral.org/report/tennis.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=Tennis players and fans are facing more extreme weather at the four Grand Slams |date=21 June 2026 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/report/tennis |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2026tennis, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{Tennis players and fans are facing more extreme weather at the four Grand Slams}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/report/tennis}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }