Tennis Players v. Tennis Balls

Pro tennis players have too much to deal with already than to be asked to adjust to a new ball every damn week.

The sheer number of wrinkles that pro tennis players deal with to compete at a professional level is wild. From worldwide travel to surface to weather to scheduling (both throughout the year and on the actual day of competition) and a bunch of other crap I’m missing. The fact that the ball itself, a tournament-provided piece of equipment, is another element that players not only have to adjust but fairly often contribute to injury is INSANE.

An NBA Comparison

I don’t want to get into a comparison of which sport has the most variables to deal with, but could you imagine if NBA players were switching from a Wilson NBA Official ball to the Wilson Evolution to the FIBA ball to the Adidas Pro to the Spalding Never Flat to the Wilson NCAA to the Nike Elite? Maybe you can’t because you have no idea what I just said. Call up Kyrgios – he likes hoops – he will tell you it’s a big difference. And I’m not taking a shot at basketball; I LOVE basketball. But trust me when I tell you that it WOULD NOT FLY. There would be a lockout. Actually, I take that back, because it just wouldn’t happen. It’s just an unthinkable concept in the NBA. But that is basically what we’re dealing with here. And while that may not be an apples-to-apples comparison to tennis, it’s not that far off.

(Side note: I know that some sports, like NCAA basketball, allow schools to pick which ball they want to use for their home games, so you may have a different ball each game. In response, I would say: (1) That doesn’t mean it’s a good option, (2) I don’t think there is any indication that this in any way contributes to injuries the way it does in tennis, (3) the NCAA tournament is one ball, and (4) college sports, which are awesome, can be a little weird for a lot of other reasons, too.

Reliable Sources

I know players aren’t necessarily falling by the wayside due to injuries resulting from the use of a different ball each week, and I know that balls are part of the financial structure of the tour, but our players certainly shouldn’t be at the whim of the current set-up. We may have to hurt some feelings and rework the sponsorships and partnerships for some of these tournaments, but we need to make some changes because the fact that this is an actual problem that people have been talking about for years is stupid. The Twitter account @TheTennisLetter put out a good tweet several days ago showing Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev, and Stan Wawrinka talking about injuries related to the constant switching of balls. SEEMS LIKE PRETTY RELIABLE SOURCES!!! Three of the most physical dudes on tour who play a relentless amount of tennis and do a lot of winning – I’m inclined to take their word for it.

Have been dealing w wrist issues since beginning of USO series cause of ball changes✌🏻we went 3 different balls in 3 weeks https://t.co/018jWjFPTC

— Taylor Fritz (@Taylor_Fritz97) September 30, 2023

Vasek Pospisil had a couple of tweets on this in early September, focusing on the fact that the balls have been made heavier and slower to create longer points (the slowing down of courts and tennis balls is another whole topic). Mardy Fish, probably one of the most talented and smoothest guys to ever pick up a racquet, responded to Pospisil’s noting that his arm is so beat down nowadays due to the different weights of the balls each week. I’m detecting a pattern. Hell, after the French Open this year, Carlos Alcaraz even floated the idea of just using one ball the entire year. Maybe that’s crazy. Maybe it’s not. But it seems that the only thing comparably annoying (if not stupid) to using one ball all the time (even if that ball is horrible) is having to change balls every week, even if all those balls in the rotation are good (which we know they aren’t).

Solutions

One Ball Per Slam Season

Here’s an option: the lead-up to the slams – 1 ball. For the U.S. hard court swing through the U.S. Open, we’re going to use that Wilson Extra Duty U.S. Open ball that everybody has seen and used their entire life. For the European clay court lead-ups through the French Open, let’s find a decent clay ball (uphill climb) and use that for the slam and all the lead-ups. Whatever ball is used at the slam, that’s what gets used during the lead-ups. The ball will play and wear down differently based on the courts and the conditions of each tournament, but at least it’s the same damn ball.

I know that doesn’t cover the entire calendar, but we’re making strides here. This proposition doesn’t cover the post-Australia stretch heading into Indian Wells and Miami. It doesn’t cover the Asia swing we are in now. Someone can figure those, and the rest of the gaps, out. I’m not going to stare at the calendar and break it down, but I think there are some general guidelines we can use like surface, the tournaments players typically play in sequence, and trying to use the same ball for at least two weeks in a row that can get us to the right spot.

One Ball Per Surface

Another simpler option (likely code word for stupider): One ball per surface. And when I say surface, I mean the dumbed-down, caveman understanding of it: hard, clay, and grass. Done. Nailed it.

One Ball ONLY

A third option: is the Carlos Alcaraz option. One ball. One financial partner putting all the money on the line to be the official ball of the ATP. Maybe the players would like a little more variety than that to ensure the good ball is in place to gel with the respective surface.

Just Do SOMETHING

No bad ideas. This is a safe space. I mean I’m an actual idiot, and I feel like I’m making progress here. Just imagine what somebody who knows what they’re doing could drum up.

Who makes the choices for which balls to use in my quest for change? Let’s poll the top 100 players which ball(s) they think are worth considering for the respective sports – they know which balls are decent, and balance those results out with the financial interests – we need to make sure it is the right partner from a financial perspective. Maybe the player’s council just makes the choice. Is that still a thing… how is that whole player’s council thing going by the way?

Honestly, I would take us drawing a random player’s name out of a hat, and they decide on a whim. You know how in the March Madness random people, who have no idea about college basketball, have the best bracket because they pick based on their favorite color and mascots they like? Let’s do that with a random person on the street who doesn’t even know what tennis is and have them pick 4 balls from a selection of 10. I don’t care, but let’s not just keep doing this.

I don’t know if the problem can truly be eliminated, but let’s do ourselves a favor here. Let’s help ourselves, you know? And when I say “us” and “we,” I’m just speaking into the void to the people who actually can do something. Can we just try? Let’s not pretend it’s not an issue. Conversely, let’s not spin our wheels, unwilling to make a change, because we aren’t 100% convinced that whatever change we do make is going to be the perfect answer. Even if we can’t nail the bullseye right away, I feel like there are some obvious steps in the right direction. Maybe we come up short. Maybe we overcorrect. But let’s do something because the players have too much on their plate already for this to be a legitimate concern every week.