Medvedev Slams ATP For Using 'Not Professional' Tennis Balls, Zverev Agrees

Saturday, 05 October 2024 at 02:30

byZachary Wimer

Tennis players have had many grievances with the tennis balls used in previous years, and the situation has not improved in recent times, as those issues persist.

There has been discussion about the tennis balls in use in previous years, with many tennis players not particularly thrilled with them. It's a tricky issue because, generally, players have somewhat specific preferences on everything. That could be court speed, ball profile, or anything else impacting their play.

Finding a solution for such an issue is tricky because it's impossible to make it perfect for everyone. In recent times, the slow balls have annoyed lots of players because they make it very hard to hit winners, so the points and matches drag on.

No player wants to be stuck on the court for five hours, which is why they complain. There have been loud calls for the ATP to address the issues. However, players are still having issues with the tennis balls, and two of them prominently spoke about the issue at the 2024 Shanghai Masters.

The first of those is Daniil Medvedev, who isn't happy about the balls because he deems them to be below quality for an event such as Shanghai. The Russian has had several complaints over the years, as he generally tends to have a particular way of how things should be, whether ball or court, and this time, he even stopped his match to complain to the supervisor.

"These balls are not good enough for professional tennis. This is one of the biggest tournaments in the world and the balls are destroyed after five games. No pressure at all".

- Medvedev raises the tennis ball issue at SHanghai

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Alexander Zverev seems to agree with Medvedev, at least based on his statements ahead of the ATP Masters 1000 event, because he had some things to say about the tennis balls in use as well.

Speaking about them, Zverev said that, to him, they feel a bit dead, as if there was no air in them. He further admitted that he struggled with them in New York but also in Shanghai.

"They feel a bit dead. They feel like there's not much going on there. They don't get big, but they just feel like there's no air inside of them. I struggle with those tennis balls a little bit. I struggled with them at the US Open, I struggle with them here."

It's an ongoing topic and likely will remain so for the future. The ATP, as an organization, has shown itself to be resilient to any outside criticism, even from players. The organization doesn't often change much based on the players' recommendations, so the issue with the tennis balls likely won't be addressed in any meaningful way, much like it hasn't been addressed in any meaningful way until now.

As with many things, the players will have to try to adjust to the best of their ability. Even with the struggles, Zverev made a solid run at the US Open, and Medvedev won his first match in Shanghai, so it can be done.