Former World No.3 Stan Wawrinka has joined the growing list of players who have raised concerns regarding the quality of tennis balls used on ATP events, with the Swiss superstar voicing his opinion after a recent ITF event in Slovakia.
The change in quality of tennis balls used on tour has been a hot topic over the last few months, with players ranging from Novak Djokovic to Daniil Medvedev speaking out against the new trend. The aforementioned stars have pondered on the long-term effect on players health when using these new balls, speculating that this could lead to elbow and wrist injuries.
Wawrinka joins conversation after issue reemerges at ITF event
During an ITF W75 event in Slovakia last week, Bastein Fazicani, coach of WTA player Panna Udvardy, complained about the poor ball conditions at the event. Fazicani tweeted pictures of worn-out balls after barely seven minutes of play, and revealed the tournament only allowed three new balls per day.
"Hey @stanwawrinka this is our balls after exactly 7min of warmup, this week in Trnava ITF W75. Only 3 new balls allowed per day…..," Fazicani tweeted.
This is not the first time Wawrinka had complained about the quality of tennis balls, as the three-time Grand Slam champion had called out the organizers of the 2024 Indian Wells Open, questioning if the balls used at their event were supposed to be worn out after just one rally.
"Question: Is not normal that in 2024 at @BNPPARIBASOPEN one of biggest tennis tournament in the world ,we have to do are 2nd practice with old balls ?? @atptour @TommyHaas13 Thats 1 rally play with the ball," the Swiss tweeted.
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Hey @stanwawrinka this is our balls after exactly 7min of warmup, this week in Trnava ITF W75.
Only 3 new balls allowed per day…..
#itf#atp#wta#ballsgate