Jimmy
Connors commented on the controversy surrounding criticisms of the
ATP balls
and expressed the opinion that it will be "interesting" if players
like
Novak Djokovic,
Carlos Alcaraz, and Daniil Medvedev get injured during the
year.
The former
world No. 1 recently shared his thoughts on his podcast, Advantage Connors,
discussing the events at the ATP Finals, where Djokovic secured his 7th title,
surpassing the record of Roger Federer, who ended with 6 trophies.
Connors
addressed one of the controversies that arose at the end of the year due to
players, including Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, and Ben Shelton, who
complained that the balls in tournaments are different and have become
increasingly heavier, raising the risk of injury.
"I
think somewhere down the line, they are gonna have to look into it because the
guys that are selling the tickets and bringing the fans in are the ones that
are complaining. So, you gotta have to sit down and talk to them and figure out
what the right thing to do is so that they can continue to be out there
playing. Because, the game goes on how the guys are playing," Connors
stated on his podcast.
"If
Djokovic, Alcaraz, Sinner, if the top 5-6 guys all surrender injured and are
losing early because of the balls, it's gonna be interesting to see where that
goes," former world No. 1 added.
According
to him, the chances of players suffering injuries increase, and the world's top
players, who typically have hectic schedules, are the ones most at risk.
"With
the equipment that they have today, the rackets and the string and so with the
balls being heavy, the rackets are so light. So, with the ball like that,
there's gonna be wrist injuries, elbow injuries and shoulder injuries," Jimmy
Connors concluded.
