As Cyclone Montha continued to batter the region—severely disrupting daily life and repeatedly placing the Chennai Open on the brink of cancellation—a different kind of difficulty awaited Donna Vekić when she finally stepped onto the court on Wednesday. Instead of the storm itself, it was the oppressive heat that created alarming scenes during her match, leading to medical staff being called onto the court to check her vitals and even draw blood in an effort to assess her condition.
Despite the challenging circumstances, the Olympic silver medalist pushed through her opening-round encounter against local favourite Vaishnavi Adkar. Vekić breezed through the first set with a 6–1 victory, but the momentum shifted dramatically in the second when she appeared visibly distressed by the brutal heat and humidity. A doctor was summoned, resulting in a lengthy pause in play as Vekić received treatment and attempted to regain enough strength to continue.
Earlier in the day, Francesca Jones had faced similar troubles. She was forced to retire from her match against Mei Yamaguchi after struggling with comparable conditions—scenes reminiscent of the beginning of the Asian swing in Wuhan and Shanghai, where extreme heat had repeatedly pushed players to their limits. During that period, several competitors either retired mid-match or required assistance to get through their contests, and Holger Rune even publicly appealed for the introduction of stricter heat protocols after suffering his own difficulties.
Vekić, in an effort to stabilize herself, sat on the sideline while medical staff monitored her heart rate, blood pressure, and other vitals. The atmosphere grew tense as they later drew blood to further evaluate her condition. Eventually, she was given chocolate to help raise her blood sugar and restore some energy, a moment that underscored just how physically taxing the conditions had become.
Meanwhile, the cyclone itself has persisted in causing widespread disruption across the region. While it did not escalate into a disaster severe enough to force a mass cancellation of the tournament, its impact has nevertheless been significant. The storm has been responsible for property damage, travel delays, major interruptions to match scheduling—and tragically, the death toll in Andhra Pradesh has risen to two. Even so, officials considered it somewhat fortunate that the cyclone had not intensified further, as such an escalation could have thrown the entire event into disarray.
On Wednesday, meteorological authorities announced that the system had weakened into a cyclonic storm, a classification they expected it to maintain for several hours. Despite the downgrade in intensity, the weather remained destructive enough that tournament organizers were faced with the unusual situation of suspending play for the second straight day on Tuesday. Not a single first-round match had been completed during the first two days of the event, a fact that left scheduling tight but not impossible to salvage.
Hiten Joshi, the tournament director, attempted to reassure players and fans that the event could still be completed on schedule. “Actually, we are quite okay because with a 32-player draw, we only need five days—one round per day,” he explained. “Of course, the players who are competing in both singles and doubles will need to play two matches each day, but that is manageable.”
Looking back on the tournament’s history, Joshi noted that weather-related disruptions were not entirely new, though never on this scale. “We’ve had rain interrupt tournaments before, but nothing like this—nothing that wiped out two full days of play,” he said. “There was a previous occasion where a sudden shower forced us to pause a match, but we were able to dry the court and continue. This level of interruption is unprecedented.”
Between the cyclone threatening the schedule and the dangerous heat creating medical scares on court, the Chennai Open has faced challenges unlike any seen in recent memory. And for Donna Vekić, the ordeal underscored just how unpredictable—and physically demanding—this year’s event has become.
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