"I cannot tell you how boring it was to be involved in extremely fast conditions" - Andy Roddick and Jim Courier discuss current court conditions

Former World No.1 Andy Roddick and retired American tennis star Jim Courier debated over court and ball conditions throughout the 2022 season on the Tennis Channel.

Andy Roddick said that tennis balls should not be slow all year and should bounce higher at times.

“I think this is right. I don’t think that it should always feel like a medium slow situation," said Roddick. "Balls should be bouncing up and away, higher some weeks, faster through the week. It’s different than what we see most of the year."

Courier, on the other hand, admitted that he had mixed emotions about the change because he played during a time when the varying extreme conditions forced him to modify his strategy multiple times during the season.

“I have mixed feelings on this and here’s why," said the retired pro. "I played in an era where we have those extremes, where clay was like playing on mud and on grass you could not bounce the ball the way it normally would, it was so slow so low bouncing and fast. I had to completely adjust my game a couple times a year, as did everyone else.”

He remarked that regardless of the surface, he had not enjoyed watching tennis more than in the last 15 years because of the extended rallies.

“What I will tell you is I probably never enjoyed watching tennis more in the last 15 years because I have been able to watch longer rallies," admitted Courier. "I cannot tell you how boring it was to be involved in extremely fast conditions. Maybe we just were not good enough like the players are these days to make those conditions look as good as they do these days.

"In Turin for example, they are very quick courts and they are playing long rallies. I would say that tennis has been unbelievably lucky in the last 15 to 20 years, that the players have been so consistent and we have had all these rivalries."