Novak Djokovic is facing an injury nightmare ahead of the Australian Open and Nick Kyrgios has wasted little time in blaming ATP Tour chiefs for his problem.
The defending Australian Open champion has stated his belief that he is confident of making a recovery from a wrist injury in time for his appearance at Melbourne Park later this month.
Yet a wrist injury is arguably the most worrying short-term injury a tennis player can suffer from, as there is no way of covering up the problem in best-of-five-set matches at a Grand Slam tournament.
Now outspoken Aussie Kyrgios has waded into the debate, as he suggested the constant changing of tennis balls is likely to be the primary reason why Djokovic has picked up the injury.
“Change of balls every week finally got to Novak’s wrist,” said Kyrgios on X. “The ATP really need to do something about this problem. Players suffer all the time.
“Also, for the people who think balls aren’t a big enough factor to result in an athlete being hurt are potato’s. The load through a player’s elbow, wrist over this vigorous season is enormous.”
The debate over the different tennis balls used at a variety of tournaments has been a huge talking point in tennis over the last year, with male and female players attributing their injury problems.
Djokovic has been among the many top players calling for changes regarding the balls with several feeling that injury risks are increased because of the current variations.
Different brands of balls react differently when they are struck, with some fluffing up more quickly than others and players consistently complaining about the need to adapt to new balls from one week to the next.
Part of this problem is down to sponsorship deals struck by individual tournaments, with the ATP and WTA Tours reluctant to step in an influence the deals set up by tournament organisers.
Yet the increasingly vocal demands from players at all levels of the game to have a more consistent ball choice may force tennis chiefs to consider a solution.
Canadian tennis star Vasek Pospisil, who started the PTPA players union with Djokovic, is among those who have expressed their concerns about this issue, as he suggested the changing of balls is risking the health of the game’s best talent.
“There were discussions a few years back that the ATP/WTA wanted to “slow the game down” to have longer points for fans,” he said on X.
“The balls have been getting incrementally heavier and surprise surprise, it’s killing our bodies. Almost every player I’ve spoken to feels the same way.
“I’ve never seen more wrist, elbow, and shoulder injuries in the locker room. If these changes to the ball don’t start getting reversed, it’s only going to get worse. Please start listening ATP Tour and WTA Tour. Player injuries are bad for you too.”
World No 3 Daniil Medvedev has also expressed his annoyance over the ever-changing balls, as he criticised the Dunlop version used on the ATP Tour for hardcourt events last year.
“Last two games before they change the balls, the balls are like apples,” said Medvedev. “They are so, so big. You’re kind of playing like padel.
“You hit the ball, whoever hits it with an angle… you don’t feel like you’re controlling the game anymore.
“In Doha and here, I felt like every time… two or three games with new balls, then the game becomes slower.
“My game was 6-4, 6-2 and it was like one hour 40 minutes which is almost a nonsense, to be honest. It’s because the serve doesn’t count as much and it’s long points.
https://x.com/NickKyrgios/status/1742495524106997805?s=20
“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’.
“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.”
Tennis chiefs have a huge battle to resolve this problem amid the commercial deals that are being done in the game, but the chorus for change over how tennis balls are used in the professional game is now reaching fever pitch.