Daniil Medvedev questions ATP Tour’s ball choice for hard court events
Daniil Medvedev has questioned the ATP Tour’s choice of balls for hard court events.
Medvedev believes that the balls greatly increase the risk of injury as he feels they are harder to hit crisply.
He says that he thought he was alone in feeling that the Dunlop balls were tough on his wrist until a chance encounter with a doubles player in Rotterdam convinced him it might be a real problem.
Medvedev believes that the ATP Tour should look to make adjustments to the balls being used according to player feedback.
“I think the toughest for me was to get used to the balls. 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 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,” said Medvedev according to Ubitennis.
“Then in Rotterdam, a doubles player came to me and started talking about balls and (said) that everyone has problems with their elbow, wrist. He thinks it’s because of the balls. I was like, ‘Wow, so I’m not the only one.’”
Medvedev believes that a string of wrist injuries to top players including Holger Rune and Sebastian Korda point towards a problem with the balls, which he says ‘shock’ the racket as they are hit.
“I think that these balls are not good for hard courts. They get very fluffy. 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 work on my wrist every day it’s gonna be very painful.” He said.
Medvedev hopes that other players will join him in voicing their concerns about the Dunlop balls.
“If there are 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.” Medvedev added.
Medvedev has won back-to-back hard court tournaments on the ATP Tour and has complained that he needs to do an awful lot of work on his wrists to avoid injury.
He is scheduled to take on 22-year-old Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Daniil Medvedev relieved to conquer Andy Murray in windswept Doha
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