Oz Open matches halted due to soaring heatwaves

Soaring temperatures at Melbourne have reportedly led to Australian Open matches being halted, with reports warning that the country will see hotter heatwaves.

Melbourne, where the tournament is held, is seeing a third consecutive day of heat above 40C, with temperatures of 41.7C on Thursday, with Australia's Climate Council saying that that the number of hot days in the country has 'more than doubled'.

According to the BBC, Australian Open organisers said their extreme heat policy was in force, with matches on outside courts being suspended at the end of their sets, adding that matches at Rod Laver Arena and Hisense Arena would continue with a closed roof.

The report mentioned that play was scheduled to resume on outside courts at 18:00 local time (07:00 GMT), with tournament officials saying that temperature, wind direction and humidity are taken into account when implementing the extreme heat policy.

The announcement came mid-afternoon with the hottest part of the day approaching, and the report mentioned that on Tuesday, a tennis player and a ball boy fainted in the heat during the tournament.