Debate is raging throughout the tennis world after the Australian Open introduced it has prolonged its partnership with under-fire ball producer Dunlop Sports.
Despite participant complaints in regards to the fluffy balls getting used on the 2023 Open, the deal has been renewed for an additional 5 years.
Images of gamers returning lifeless balls to match officers and labouring by means of marathon rallies have soured the primary 4 rounds of the event, with gamers pissed off in regards to the lack of spin they’re in a position to impart on the ball.
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Defending champion Rafael Nadal had complained heading into this yr’s event that the balls had been “worse quality, without a doubt.
“It’s a ball that don’t get the same spin as usual.
“After a couple of hits, the ball lose the pressure.”
Pressure isn’t the one issue that the gamers have complained about, with the sturdiness additionally below hearth.
Nine-time Open winner Novak Djokovic complained: “The longer you play, the fluffier the ball becomes and it’s slower.”
With the cacophony of complaints getting louder because the event begins to achieve the business finish, tennis legend John McEnroe has rubbished the complaints from the gamers, calling it “much to do about pretty much nothing” in an interview with Eurosport.
“Oh it’s too hot, it’s too cold, it’s too windy, I play too late, I play too late, I play too early, the tension is not right in my racquet, the balls get too heavy,” he mentioned.
McEnroe mentioned if gamers had been having points with the balls, the answer was in string pressure.
“Of course, the balls get heavier after the way these guys and girls hit it now.
“After three or four games, if in fact the balls are getting heavier or you think they are getting heavier, use the frame with slightly looser strengths.”
The seven-time Slam winner praised fashionable gamers for his or her capability to make changes on the fly, and put many of the complaints right down to early-tournament nerves.
“That’s one of the things that tennis players do better than almost anyone in any sport.
“They have to go to different time zones, they play at different times, they play with different balls.
“These things are par for the course for tennis players, so usually when people are amped up and nervous about how they are going to do in the tournament and they get closer to it, everything seems to be wrong.
“I think eventually, you will see now it’s the end of the first week, you’re not gonna be hearing much talk about the balls anymore.”
Tournament director Craig Tiley mentioned Tennis Australia was thrilled with Dunlop’s high quality after they made the change from Wilson in 2019, regardless of criticism on the time from Bernard Tomic and Roger Federer.
“We’ve worked closely with Dunlop for some time and are impressed with their quality control at every stage, from design right through to the manufacturing process,” he mentioned when the deal was first signed.
He additionally defended the standard of the balls for this yr’s event, saying this yr’s ball was “exactly the same specification” as final yr, in an interview on SEN.
“One thing that has been different this year has been the conditions,” he mentioned.
“We’ve had more extreme heat, more rain, more extremes in weather.
“That has changed the conditions.”
Tennis Australia, in an announcement to News Corp, mentioned that they’d “continue to gather feedback from the playing group and ensure it is factored into the design, manufacturing and testing process.”
Despite the multitude of participant complaints, new information can reveal that this yr’s Open has nonetheless favoured the baseline specialists and flat hitters which might be recognized for historically dominating the boys’s fixtures at Melbourne Park.
Using measurements of common topspin on backhands and forehands drawn from a wide range of ATP tournaments in 2021, a knowledge evaluation can present probably the most spin-reliant gamers on tour had been knocked out early within the event, with third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas the one spin-heavy participant to make the quarter-finals of this yr’s event.
Norwegian Casper Ruud was knocked out by unseeded Jenson Brooksby within the second spherical, whereas defending champion Rafael Nadal additionally solely received a solitary match as he struggled with harm.
Australian Alex de Minaur is the least spin-reliant participant within the pattern taking part in on this yr’s males’s singles, and faces fourth seed Novak Djokovic of their fourth spherical conflict on Rod Laver Arena on Monday night time.
