Daniil Medvedev doesn’t let go of the slow tennis balls as he opens the topic again following his first round victory at the 2023 Vienna Open.
This has been a rather controversial topic for much of this year as many players have complained about it. Conditions at most events are slowing down and while some courts still play quite fast, the tennis balls used this year are on the slow side.
They quickly become quite heavy, making it very difficult to hit any type of winner, which obviously drags out the points. To compensate, the players still hit just as hard; however, this puts more strain on their joints as well as the impact of heavy balls upon contact.
We’ve seen many players complaining of physical problems they’ve never experienced before, with many suspecting the new tennis balls to be to blame. Medvedev is not bothered by the conditions in Vienna because the event always moves quickly, which is his preference, but he is very concerned about the physical impact of the balls on the players.
The rule could at least be to not place slow balls on slow hard courts and perhaps no slow balls on fast hard courts. And so on, medium can be medium or fast, something like that. Because sometimes, for example here in Vienna, the balls get bigger. But the course is pretty fast, so I don’t think it’s a big problem.
The biggest problem is when it comes to slow pitching and slow balls, it’s a disaster physically and yes, I hope a solution can be found.
The Tours will have to remedy this as soon as possible because too many players are opposed to it, which is not good communication for the product. Ultimately, we must also protect the players because wrist injuries are increasing and it is not food that is to blame.
