Australian Open renews Dunlop contract despite fierce ball backlash

As new data debunks Craig Tiley’s claim this year’s ball was identical to the 2022 version, a former grand slam contender revealed his own stunning claim that dates back 40 years.

Balls.

Players have been demanding a standardised tennis ball “for over 40 years” that would help reduce injuries and provide fairer conditions at grand slams.

News Corp revealed on Monday that Tennis Australia had re-signed Dunlop as the Australian Open’s official ball until 2028 despite widespread player anger at the quality of the 2023 batch.

Tournament director Craig Tiley insisted on Monday that “rigorous technical and scientific” testing had shown this year’s ball was identical to the 2022 version.

But data has supported claims from current superstars that the ball is suiting flat ball strikers who don’t impart maximum levels of spin.

A recent analysis of the ATP’s top 100 players showed No.1 seed Rafael Nadal, No.2 seed Casper Ruud, No.3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and No.6 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime as the heaviest top-spinners at Melbourne Park.

But Nadal and Ruud suffered shock round 2 defeats while Auger-Aliassime lost in the fourth round after dropping sets in each of his first three victories.

Channel 9 expert Jim Courier warned last week that the ball would suit flat hitters, which should play into Aussie Alex de Minaur’s hands.

In the fallout to Dunlop’s five-year contract extension former world No.4 Greg Rusedski said the balls were affecting results.

“Being flatter & less bouncy has helped the flatter, power hitter,” Rusedski said on social media.

“Why can’t we have a standard ball made by all the manufacturers throughout the year for the tour? Less injuries as well.

“Standardized ball for the year has been asked by players for over 40 years. Stamp the ball with logo of ball manufacturer, easy solution. Nobody would know.”

Interesting to see how the ball @AustralianOpen has affected the results. Being flatter & less bouncy has helped the flatter, power hitters. Why can't we have a standard ball made by all the
manufacturers throughout the year for the tour? Less injuries as well.

— Greg Rusedski (@GregRusedski1) January 22, 2023

Yes it can, but less injury because all manufacturing processes would be the same. Standardized ball for the year has been asked by players for over 40 years.

— Greg Rusedski (@GregRusedski1) January 22, 2023

Let players decide, then standardized , only issue would be high altitude which would need a different ball

— Greg Rusedski (@GregRusedski1) January 22, 2023

Rusedski said only matches played at high altitude would require a different ball.

Aussie great Mark Philippoussis said this year’s Dunlop ball was “fluffing up” quickly.

“After a few games in this heat on these courts they are fluffing up,” Philippoussis told News Corp.

“I would imagine that’s the normal thing to happen … but they might be doing that a little quicker than normal.

“But with the humidity out here in the summertime and on these courts it doesn’t surprise me that that’s happening.”

American great John McEnroe said if players were having issues with the balls, the solution was in string tension.

“After three or four games, if in fact the balls are getting heavier or you think they are getting heavier, use the frame with slightly looser strings,” he said.

Like Philippoussis, Tiley blamed this tournament’s extreme weather conditions for the balls-up.

He said the same Dunlop balls had been served up since December and organisers were powerless to make a change mid-tournament.

“Every single year, together with Dunlop and the court manufacturers, there’s a very rigorous technical and scientific process that is gone through to test the ball,” Tiley said on SEN.

“The ball this year is exactly the same specification as the ball last year. You can’t change the ball mid (tournament), but following the event we’ll debrief again with our partners and see.

“You get some players that don’t like the ball, but all that feedback is taken into consideration and we’ll work with the players to make sure it works for them.

“We look at everything and see why in some cases some of the players feel like it’s different.”

BALLS-UP: TILEY IGNORES PLAYER CRITICISM

Despite a chorus of criticism from the game’s top players, Australian Open organisers insist the balls in use at Melbourne Park are exactly the same as last year’s event.

The Herald Sun exclusively revealed on Monday that Dunlop Sports has had its contract renewed for a further five years.

Men’s tournament favourite Novak Djokovic has been among players who have questioned the balls in use this year, declaring them “different from last year”.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal also questioned their quality in the lead-up to the event as a number of players have highlighted what they say are flat and fluffy balls.

But tournament boss Craig Tiley has defended the manufacturer, and is claiming the balls are “the same specification”.

Multiple players have voiced their concerns with the quality of the balls at this year’s tournament. (Photo by PAUL CROCK / AFP) /

“Every single year, together with Dunlop and the court manufacturers, there’s a very rigorous technical and scientific process that is gone through to test the ball,” he said on Monday morning.

“The ball this year is exactly the same specification as the ball last year. You can’t change the ball mid (tournament), but following the event we’ll debrief again with our partners and see.

“One thing that has been different this year has been the conditions. We’ve had more extreme heat, more rain, more extremes in weather. That has changed the conditions.

“But this ball has been used right throughout the summer – we started using these in December and all the way through.”

He conceded that some players have clearly had an issue.

“You get some players that don’t like the ball, but all that feedback is taken into consideration and we’ll work with the players to make sure it works for them,” Tiley said on SEN.

“We look at everything and see why in some cases some of the players feel like it’s different.”

AUS OPEN BALLS-UP: SHOCK NEW CONTRACT IGNORES PLAYER ANGER

Sam Landsberger

The Australian Open has renewed its partnership with under-fire ball manufacturer Dunlop Sports for five more years despite a chorus of criticism from the world’s best tennis players.

The Herald Sun can exclusively reveal that Dunlop – who signed on for five years as the official ball partner of Tennis Australia in 2019 – has had its contract renewed.

“Tennis Australia and Dunlop have renewed their partnership for a further five years,” a TA spokesperson told the Herald Sun.

“Dunlop has a long history of producing high-quality tennis balls with consistency, durability and little variance. Dunlop is the most-used ball on the international tennis tour.

“Player satisfaction is vital and we will continue to gather feedback from the playing group and ensure it is factored in to the design, manufacturing and testing process.”

The deal comes despite images of players squeezing flat, lifeless balls and returning duds to officials taking the shine off the first week of this year’s Australian Open.

While some of this year’s extra-long rallies have appeared aesthetically pleasing on TV, the reality is the superstars swinging their racquets are frustrated that they can’t finish points.

Felix Auger-Aliassime questions the chair umpire about the condition of the Dunlop balls. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty

They say the ridiculous rallies are a symptom of hitting lifeless balls because they can’t generate enough sizzle to smash clean winners.

Fourteen matches have lasted more than four hours and marathon man Andy Murray – who has played the longest two matches – said the balls-up was to blame.

“I saw that (Alexei) Popyrin is playing now over four hours. (Casper) Ruud played over three-and-a-half hours. I think we are going to see more of those longer duration of matches this year than we have maybe last year,” nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic said.

“I mean, (the balls are) different from last year.”

Defending champion Rafael Nadal declared before the tournament that the 2023 balls were poor quality and a chorus of complaints have backed up the No.1 seed’s claims.

Even players who are sponsored by Dunlop have criticised how quickly the balls go soft and fluffy.

But TA is clearly confident the balls are up to scratch and has promised to take player feedback onboard when completing this year’s tournament debrief.

The Australian Open made the switch from Wilson balls to Dunlop in 2019 in what was a rare ball change at a grand slam.

Wimbledon has used Slazenger’s balls since 1902 – one of the longest partnerships in world sport – and the US Open has used Wilson balls since 1978. The French Open also uses Wilson balls.

Tournament director Craig Tiley said Tennis Australia was thrilled with Dunlop’s quality when they made the switch from Wilson in 2019.

“We’ve worked closely with Dunlop for some time and are impressed with their quality control at every stage, from design right through to the manufacturing process,” Tiley said when the deal was signed.

This year’s attacks were not the first time Dunlop had its balls smashed publicly.

“I don’t know what the Australian Open has done, but it’s terrible. I think they’re pretty cheap from what I’ve heard,” Aussie Bernard Tomic said shortly after the Dunlop deal was signed.

Even living legend Roger Federer questioned the balls in 2019.

But nothing has compared to this year’s pile-on that was ignited by Nadal and backed up by Djokovic, Holger Rune, Felix Auger Aliassime and Murray.

In Auger Aliassime’s second-round match he demonstrated that the balls weren’t bouncing to the chair umpire – who agreed with him that they were not up to scratch.

“I’m bouncing the ball to serve, I know (that the balls are not bouncing). I’ve never seen it before,” the Canadian said on the court.

However they have been locked in at Melbourne Park until at least 2028.

Dunlop claims its balls are “obsessively crafted and meticulously engineered” on its website.

“We use only the purest natural rubber. Then we add our secret recipe and blend to create the final rubber compound,” it says of the first stage of production.

Originally published as Australian Open renews Dunlop contract despite fierce ball backlash