ATP Tennis Balls Slower, Causing More Injuries

[jimlosaltos]

A ~5 minute video by Top Tennis Training compiles several players complaints that slower balls with new material introduced during covid are slower and contribute to more injuries.

Link to: Are Modern Balls Destroying Tennis?

This echoes complaints by Zverev and Medvedev I've posted here, and adds others. Not everyone agrees on the behavior of the balls, but the general theme is that poor quality rubber loses compression and the balls fluff up more. Some add that thicker, compressed felt makes the balls faster through the air to start, then the balls slow down through the air as well as off the bounce.

Included: Djokovic, Medvedev, Zverev

Ball after 25 minutes of plat.

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[stotty]

Over here, Slazenger were always widely regarded as the best ball but people are moving over the Dunlops because they last longer and fluff up less. I run a large amateur tournament every year and use Dunlops. It really depends on the ball, the brand. Manufacturing moved to the Philippines some years ago I believe and people have been complaining ever since.

[doctorhl]

When we occasionally used Slazengers here in Louisiana summer humidity, the balls fluffed, which allowed moisture to be absorbed. You could literally see moisture drops spin off the ball at times. The balls felt incredibly heavy and would wear your arm out. We noticed the same effect on various Dunlop models over the years.

[jimlosaltos]

Perhaps some are missing the players' point -- that the pro balls were changed during Covid due to difficulty in getting the same quality rubber, and have remained at that lower standard since.

Secondly, there are some reports that this is due to an ATP attempt to standardize balls (which many players have called for) backfiring, because a more durable ball is needed to work across highly variable surfaces.

Regardless, the claim is the ball changed around 2020, and hasn't returned to its old performance/ design.

[don_budge]

Interesting. Hmmm...tennis balls are contributing to injuries. All of a sudden? I'm sure the quality of tennis balls has improved over the last fifty years ago. I can never recall in all my years anyone in tennis ever suggesting something of this nature. Modern tennis players. Bathroom breaks. Injury time outs. Defaults galore. Is it possible that the race of tennis players is devolving? Becoming more sensitive. Less resistant. Prima donnas. Give them wooden racquets a can of whatever and let them have at it. Last man standing. No complaining.

[neilchok]

Wilson US Open tennis balls are the best in my opinion. I got introduced to them when I started doing paid hits with some d1 college players. It is the most neutral ball, as I used to love the Pro Penn Marathon, but those are not allowed. It seem though now college tennis teams are using dunlop. Those are essentially rocks to hit. I get a 5-10 mph increase on a forehand when not using a dunlop ball. Pro Penn Marathon is a 15mph increase, as it is extremely lively, but I think not allowed on the tour as too powerful.

[don_budge]

Wilson US Open tennis balls are the best in my opinion. I got introduced to them when I started doing paid hits with some d1 college players. It is the most neutral ball, as I used to love the Pro Penn Marathon, but those are not allowed. It seem though now college tennis teams are using dunlop. Those are essentially rocks to hit. I get a 5-10 mph increase on a forehand when not using a dunlop ball. Pro Penn Marathon is a 15mph increase, as it is extremely lively, but I think not allowed on the tour as too powerful.

Interesting observations regarding the difference in various brands of tennis balls. One of the most interesting aspects of tennis, the original tennis, is the concept of having to adapt to different conditions and different opponents. What you see now in the modern game is a total homogenization of all of these aspects. The courts are all the same in comparison to the courts of the past. Playing style has basically been reduced to one playing style. Now the balls are under the lens of progressive tennis officials. Naturally the players are in lock step as they will all march to the same drummer.

It's a rather big adjustment to adapt to different tennis balls. Within the context of a match being played in real conditions...weather, opponents and even audiences. The ability to adapt used to be one of the huge lessons in tennis coaching. It used to be that players had to play different styles within their own game in order to adapt to the match of the day. So much has been lost from the Classic game to the Fake Tennis of today.

Modern sport ethics. Prior to 1968 the game of tennis was primarily the amateur game or at least there was a definite division between professional and amateur. At the same time in baseball the status quo was being challenged by the "reserve clause" which gave birth to the modern game of baseball and had the same motivation to eliminate a lot of the traditions in baseball. My father was a professional baseball player in the 50's and his view of things were old school. He had a low regard for the modern game which eventually morphed into a "show me the money" attitude as the prevailing culture compared to the old school player loyalty to the manager and the team. Al Kaline of the 1970 Detroit Tigers turned down one hundred thousand dollars a year because he was self conscious about showing up his teammates and his manager. At the time the star player on any team made approximately ten times what a school teacher or a policeman made in a year.

Tennis metaphoring life...again. New balls please!

[neilchok]

The dunlop balls are the worst. They are extremely, extremely heavy!!! They are not as bad as pressure-less balls but they are pretty bad in my opinion. I started seeing them a couple years ago, as they were introduced at the Australian Open. And then I remember I played a match against someone and they used those balls. And they were absolutely terrible. You have to be extremely strong to hit with high speeds with dunlop balls, and maybe that is needed for Pro Players. But I guess it is causing injuries, in my opinion probably because they are really heavy.

But recently it seems college tennis has switched to them, or at least the match between Oklahoma vs USD did.

[hybridfh]

The dunlop balls are the worst. They are extremely, extremely heavy!!! They are not as bad as pressure-less balls but they are pretty bad in my opinion. I started seeing them a couple years ago, as they were introduced at the Australian Open. And then I remember I played a match against someone and they used those balls. And they were absolutely terrible. You have to be extremely strong to hit with high speeds with dunlop balls, and maybe that is needed for Pro Players. But I guess it is causing injuries, in my opinion probably because they are really heavy.

But recently it seems college tennis has switched to them, or at least the match between Oklahoma vs USD did.

Hmm. I don't know if I can really tell the difference and I hit the ball fairly well. I used a fresh can of Dunlop balls yesterday on medium speed courts against a somewhat weaker player who maybe struggles to hit through the ball. Gave me a lot of time for good footwork so I felt I hit the ball nicely. Used those same balls this morning after a mediocre night's sleep, on a faster court against a flatter hitter who also generally hits through the ball better, and my footwork wasn't great and I struggled to connect well on impact. I think the biggest variable was my own ability to adapt and remain disciplined with my footwork, but some of that was due to the balls being a little dead after the bounce making my timing more trickier (caught myself early numerous times and having to slow my swing from the prep).

[neilchok]

the thing might be that they have changed the Dunlop balls. Also there are different versions of the dunlop balls now. So not sure which one you were using. I used them three years ago, and they were so bad that if someone even brings them out, I immediately ask to play with my Wilson us open balls, which are the best, but don't last too long

[don_budge]

the thing might be that they have changed the Dunlop balls. Also there are different versions of the dunlop balls now. So not sure which one you were using. I used them three years ago, and they were so bad that if someone even brings them out, I immediately ask to play with my Wilson us open balls, which are the best, but don't last too long

The best ball in Europe is the Tecnifibre ball. Hands down. There were using this ball at a number of ATP events including the French Open. Swiatek and Medvedev are just a couple of players using their racquets. The woman's racquet is among the best as far as I can tell. I have a lot of respect for their products. I believe that the price of a can of four balls was about ten U. S. dollars. One hundred Swedish crowns.

Regarding the price of balls...it is a point of interest that in or around 1910 or so the price of a can of three tennis balls in the Sears catalogue was approximately a dollar and fifty cents. When I left the United States in or around 2004 the price of a can of Wilson or Penn balls was around two dollars. Of any item in that was in the 1910 Sears catalogue tennis balls were the least affected by inflation. Not to mention the increased quality and technology. Just imagine the improvement in the consistency and quality of the tennis ball over time. Most production is in the Far East and new products are easily converted and assimilated. Copied from other products with little of no change in quality. Robin S?derling came up with a tennis ball virtually over night and the quality was very close to the Tecnifibre ball.

How much to tennis balls cost nowadays?