Tennis 2023: Daniil Medvedev blames Dunlop ball for injuries on ATP Tour
The Australian Open was plagued with complaints about the Dunlop tennis ball, now one star is linking the ball to a rash of injuries among fellow professionals.
Former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev has called for an urgent investigation into the Dunlop tennis balls used at the Australian Open and other ATP hard court events, claiming they are “like apples” and could be linked to wrist, elbow and shoulder injuries among players.
Medvedev raised his concerns after winning the Qatar Open last week and continued his crusade after a first up win in Dubai on Monday, claiming there is a growing anger among players on tour upset with the situation.
Australian Open officials vehemently denied there was any issue with the balls when the likes of Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray first aired their concerns in Melbourne in January, claiming the balls had not changed and will not change as part of a long term deal with Dunlop until 2028.
But Medvedev’s latest claims, including the increase in wrist or elbow injuries among elite players was due to the balls, raises the stakes even further.
“Last two games before they change the balls, the balls are like apples,” said Medvedev after his 6-4 6-2 victory over Italian Matteo Arnaldi.
“They are so, so big. You’re kind of playing like padel. You hit the ball. Whoever hits it with angle... You don’t feel like you’re controlling the game anymore.”
Medvedev has now won two titles in two weeks and in Dubai he is chasing a third straight ATP event victory, so it’s not like his concerns are coming off the back of defeats.
“I think the toughest for me was to get used to the balls,” he explained after the Doha final against former world No. 1 Andy Murray.
“I want to talk a little bit more about it because in Australia, I felt like these balls were not good for hard courts, and in the match with (Sebastian) Korda, before the match, I had a very big pain in my wrist, but I thought, ‘okay, that’s my problem, so I’m not going to talk much about it’.
“Then in Rotterdam, when doubles players came to me and started talking about balls and started talking that everyone has problems with their elbow, wrist, from doubles players, they think it’s because of the balls. I’m like, ‘wow, so I’m not the only one’.
They're too "fluffy", they lose their "pop" and are generally slowing things down.
— Sean Cardovillis (@seancardo) January 18, 2023
Players have been making their feelings known about the quality of tennis balls on offer at this year's Australian Open - and the reviews have not been kind.#AusOpen#seanknowspic.twitter.com/Sugqgdxgjq
“Now I see (Holger) Rune, (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, who else, Korda, all wrist, elbow, shoulder. So I think that these balls are not good for hard courts. They get very fluffy, and as I say, it’s a big shock to play them with your racquet.
“I think this should be reconsidered because I feel like if I don’t do enough job on my wrist every day, it’s gonna just, you know, be very painful.”
Medvedev said he had spoken to the tournament supervisor about the ball issue but urged other players to air their concerns about how quickly the balls lose their bounce and for the ATP to seek genuine feedback from the players about the problem.
“I talked a little bit to the supervisor, but the thing is that I wonder what other players think. You’re not going to be in the locker, you know, coming to every other player asking about the balls,” he said.
“So maybe if people going to start asking them, maybe finally I’m going to be the only one arguing about the balls, and then I’m just, that’s my problem.
“If there is going to be 15 players that come out and say, ‘yeah, I feel the same’, then it’s a problem of the balls. I’m just going to wait and see what happens when other players get asked this question.”
KYRGIOS WITHDRAWALS PUT WIMBLEDON BERTH AT RISK
– Callum Dick
Nick Kyrgios is in danger of plummeting down the world rankings after withdrawing from Masters events at Indian Wells and Miami – and it could have serious ramifications for his Wimbledon campaign.
Kyrgios, 27, has not played any form of tennis since December and his most recent competitive event was the ATP 500 Japan Open last October.
The world No. 19 was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open last month due to a knee injury that required surgery.
And his road to recovery has forced Kyrgios to pull the pin on two of the most prestigious events on the ATP Tour, leaving his world ranking at serious risk.
Last year he was a quarter-finalist at Indian Wells and reached the fourth round in Miami, earning him a combined 270 ranking points.
With the Aussie ace unable to defend those points this year he stands to drop at least six places in the world rankings and outside the top-20, notwithstanding the results of players around him.
He has another 90 points to defend in Houston – the event immediately following Miami – and could tumble even further if forced to withdraw, leaving him perilously close to falling out of the top-32 and automatic seeding for grand slams.
With Miami the last event before the ATP clay court season, he may have to change his tune if he wants to retain his grand slam seeding.
Kyrgios has historically avoided playing on clay, with Houston his only outing on the surface in 2022.
He has not played at the French Open since 2017, though recently declared he would return to Roland Garros in 2023 – because his girlfriend wanted to visit Paris.
But Kyrgios may have other motivations to return to clay, most notably his world ranking.
If he chooses not to compete on clay, Kyrgios will have just three grass court tournaments to prepare for Wimbledon.
With grand slam seeds locked in a week or two out from tournament start, he may only have two opportunities to bank ranking points before the top-32 for Wimbledon is decided.
Historically Wimbledon had spurned the ATP Ranking system and ran its own seeding, however the All-England Club moved to the common format in 2021.
As one of the top grass court proponents on tour, Kyrgios almost certainly would have earned seeding under the old method, but not this year.
Of course, if any would-be unseeded player could make a deep run at Wimbledon, it’s Kyrgios.
He famously ran the gauntlet last year, becoming the first unseeded player since 2008 to reach a major final, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in four sets.
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