The discourse revolving around the type of tennis ball being used in a tennis tournament is always a bone of contention between the players.
At this year's US Open, the tournament is using the same Wilson ball across both tours, which is a stark contrast to last year. In 2022, many WTA players expressed their dissatisfaction with the lighter Wilson ball used which was harder to control.
The USTA eventually reached a consensus with both tours after listening to both sides of the arguments before making a decision with utmost thought and deliberation to use the Extra Duty ball. While the ball is durable due to its thicker felt, it has more weight and players generally execute with efficient swing patterns to avoid straining too much.
Players have criticized heavy tennis balls before with World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka saying they can injure tennis players. Canada's Vasek Pospisik is clearly not a fan of changes made by tennis' governing bodies in retrospect. Pospisil lashed out at both the ATP and WTA for instilling change a few years back without holding the interest of players.
He put his thoughts on X (formerly known as Twitter) describing the shortcomings of heavier tennis balls on the body. Pospisil is of the view that there has been a considerable increase in shoulder, elbow, and wrist injuries as a consequence, and calls out for an intervention - to reverse back to the original decision or the situation could only get worse.
"There were discussions a few years back that the ATP/WTA wanted to “slow the game down” to have longer points for fans. The balls have been getting incrementally heavier and surprise surprise, it’s killing our bodies."
"Almost every player I’ve spoken to feels the same way. I’ve never seen more wrist, elbow, and shoulder injuries in the locker room. If these changes to the ball don’t start getting reversed, it’s only going to get worse. Please start listening @atptour@wtatour. Player injuries are bad for you too."
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