"The player has to get used to that": Alcaraz weighs in on ball changes after Fritz and Tsitsipas criticism

Monday, 02 October 2023 at 08:00

Spain’s tennis star Carlos Alcaraz is of the opinion that it is the player’s responsibility to adapt to the change of balls on the tour.

There has been concern shown by some players, including the likes of America’s Taylor Fritz, about how difficult it has been to cope with the change of balls.

Alcaraz was recently quoted in a report where he admitted that it has not been easy to deal with the change of balls but also believes that it is the responsibility of the players to deal with changing circumstances.

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"I felt it since the first practice that I did here in Beijing,” he said. “It is something tough, but the tennis player has to (get) used to that. They change balls in every tournament or almost in every tournament is a different ball. You have to get used to that.

“It’s kind of different feeling when you are coming into a tournament, is like: What is going to be the ball? It’s a question that I think every player is asking themself about the balls.

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"Here in just one game, two games, the ball becomes different from the new ones. It’s kind of different play, and you have to get used to that.”

Alcaraz became the talk of the town as he defeated Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic in a five-set thrilling final of Wimbledon earlier this year with a score of 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4.

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Next stop: Quarter-finals. @CarlosAlcaraz is through to the last eight in Beijing. @ChinaOpen | #ChinaOpen

Score graphic of Carlos Alcaraz defeating Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 6-2 in the second round of the China Open in Beijing.

10:15 AM · Oct 1, 2023

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Azeem Siddiqui

Azeem Siddiqui is a seasoned sports journalist and data analyst with a strong background in both digital media and live sports production.

He began his journalism career working with partners of The New York Times and has since contributed to several leading international sports publications, including Fox Sports Asia, Calciomercato, and GiveMeSport. Since 2023, Azeem has been part of the TennisUpToDate team, where he has played a key role in sustaining the platform’s growth and ensuring tennis fans receive timely and reliable coverage of the sport’s biggest stories.

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