Novak Djokovic suffered a lopsided defeat at the 2024 United Cup after suffering from wrist problems. Nick Kyrgios expressed his support, blaming the frequent ball changes for the Serbian’s struggles. The tennis ball controversy has been a topic of discussion for some time now.
For about a year now, top ATP and WTA players have been regularly complaining about frequent ball changes causing them injuries. Djokovic had already spoken on this subject, castigating the associations for their silence. During the United Cup 2024, he would also have suffered this problem.
While Serbia faced Australia in the quarter-finals, Djokovic faces Alex de Minaur in the men’s singles match. The Australian No. 1 played incredible tennis to win 6-4, 6-4. However, the focus on his victory was distracted by Djokovic’s struggles. His discomfort was evident when he twice called for medical assistance for his right wrist.
After the match, Kyrgios spoke to X (formerly Twitter), saying that changing the ball “every week” was affecting Djokovic’s wrist. He called on the ATP to resolve this issue as players continue to suffer.
Loading embedded tweet https://twitter.com/NickKyrgios/status/1742495524106997805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Djokovic took a medical timeout for his right wrist during his previous clash against Czech Jiri Lehecka. He faced this problem throughout the 2024 United Cup.
The ball-changing controversy often made headlines last season. Different balls, including poor quality balls, used in different tournaments have caused many players to have problems with their wrists, shoulders and elbows. All balls behave very differently, requiring the player to adjust their power, technique and style. Additionally, many claim that the balls used are manufactured to facilitate longer rallies for visual enjoyment, rather than with player comfort in mind.
Even if big stars like Novak Djokovic protest, no changes to tennis balls are planned
Tennis balls are regulated based on their size and weight. However, no guidelines exist regarding their speed and bounce, leading different manufacturers to produce very different balls according to these criteria. Combined with how balls behave on different surfaces, tennis players must constantly adapt to the speed and bounce associated with different balls.
Different tournaments use different balls, mainly for sponsorship reasons. Therefore, just as a player gets used to the dynamics of the ball in one event, he is forced to change his game plan and play with a different ball in the next event. This has led to a wave of players facing problems on their hands.
Stars like Daniel Medvedev, Iga Swiatek, Paula Badosa and Taylor Fritz spoke out on this situation. THE The American No. 1 singled out how each of the three major tournaments of the 2023 North American swing used different balls. Medvedev was one of the first to raise his voice, in early 2023 (via Tennis.com). He said he injured his wrist while playing with some balls used at the Australian Open, saying many other players had suffered similar problems.
The first Slam of the season uses Dunlop balls and has not announced any changes. In fact, the organizers renewed the deal until 2027, drawing criticism from Rafael Nadal and Stan Wawrinka. Either way, the 2024 Australian Open is set to be played with the controversial Dunlop balls. Despite the efforts of vocal players and organizations like Novak Djokovic’s PTPA, change seems unlikely in the near future.
