Casper Ruud has voiced his frustration with fellow tennis players who have lamented the varying types of balls used at different tournaments. The world No. 8 expressed his growing exasperation, stating he is “getting so tired” of the constant discussions surrounding this issue, which he believes are simply “drama out of nothing.”
High-profile players such as Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, and Emma Raducanu have all raised concerns about the inconsistency of tennis balls across events. Medvedev, in particular, has emerged as a vocal critic, especially since he expressed worries last year about potentially suffering “shoulder pain for the rest of my life.”
During his recent match against Thiago Seyboth Wild at the Shanghai Masters, Medvedev made headlines by urging the tournament supervisor to address his grievances. “These balls are not good enough for professional tennis,” he stated emphatically. “This is one of the biggest tournaments in the world, and the balls are destroyed after five games. No pressure at all.”
After the match, he elaborated that these inferior balls seem to favor power hitters like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. “It basically benefits players who can generate power from dead balls,” Medvedev assessed, adding, “The two best players right now—Sinner and Alcaraz—can produce incredible power with these balls, which gives them an additional edge.”
Contrastingly, Ruud took a stand against such complaints during his appearance on the Nothing Major podcast. His comments, particularly aimed at players addressing their concerns to umpires, seemed to target Medvedev. “You see players complain about the balls all the time,” the Norwegian remarked. “I’m getting so tired of it. Just play.”
He further highlighted the irony of the situation, noting, “What’s funny is some players come five days early to practice, stringing like 28 rackets to get the right tension. Then, they reach the fourth round and suddenly start complaining about the balls.” Ruud questioned the purpose of raising such concerns at that stage, saying, “What is the umpire going to change? It’s just creating drama out of nothing.”
Last October, Djokovic also criticized the governing bodies of tennis, including the ATP, for their lack of action regarding ball changes. He stated, “There is certainly a connection between frequent wrist, elbow, and shoulder injuries and ball changes. I am absolutely in favor of using one ball for all ATP tournaments.”
Djokovic acknowledged the challenges with Grand Slams, where each tournament negotiates its own ball sponsorship. However, he argued, “We must find a way to unify so that every category on the ATP tour uses the same ball based on the surface.” He noted that frequent changes, sometimes occurring three times in three weeks, can negatively impact players’ health and joints.
In his conclusion, Djokovic expressed support for players raising these concerns and urged the ATP to take action. “I haven’t seen any statement from the ATP addressing player complaints, which is incomprehensible to me,” he said.