'Really Feeling It': Fritz Bashes Frequent Ball Changes And Hopes For Change
ATP
Taylor Fritz is not a fan of the frequent tennis ball changes, and he's going to keep talking about it until there is a change.
Multiple players have either criticized the tennis balls in use, as in specific balls, or the frequent changes. They're not no-names either because Novak Djokovic spoke out against it, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and so many others did as well. Fritz, of course, did it several times.
On the WTA side, we also saw Jessica Pegula, Iga Swiatek, and others speak out. It's a pretty significant issue because quite a few players started to complain about wrist injuries and similar issues, which many attribute to the balls.
Taylor Fritz certainly feels the effects of it on his body because he never had problems with injuries, and while he still doesn't, the American fears that he might suffer the same thing some of these other players have experienced, as he said during his Australian Open press conference.
"Absolutely, yeah. I feel like I'm someone who is normally - I mean, when I was younger anyways - like, didn't get injured too easily. I've been really feeling it. It's not so much like the specific ball that injuries us."
"In some cases it is. But it's more just you get used to one, and then when you change to something that's a bit heavier, your wrist or your elbow or whatever is taking the force."
And some of that force created problems for many players. Fellow American Sebastian Korda noted that his wrist injuries started with the policy of changing balls often. Fritz's initial complaint was about three consecutive weeks having three consecutive changes.
That's not good, especially when every player is different with a different setup. Changing it all the time wrecks it for everybody and Fritz wants it to change.
"Everyone is different. Everyone hits the ball different, grips, all that stuff."
