One player was forced to forfeit her match due to poor air quality as the AusOpen qualifying kicked off in Melbourne.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Smoke haze and poor air quality caused by wildfires temporarily suspended practice sessions for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Tuesday, but qualifying began later in the morning in "very poor" conditions and amid complaints by at least one player who was forced to forfeit her match.
"Both players are feeling the smoke so we are going to stop the match at this point," the umpire said. "I was really scared that I would collapse," Jakupovic told Australian Associated Press. "I don’t have asthma and never had breathing problems. I actually like heat. The physio came again and I thought it would be better. But the points were a bit longer and I just couldn’t breathe anymore and I just fell on the floor.""It’s not healthy for us. I was surprised, I thought we would not be playing today but we don’t have much choice.
Organizers said further decisions on match scheduling would be made using onsite data and in close consultation with its medical team, the Bureau of Meteorology, and scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency in Victoria state.
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