Novak Djokovic Criticizes Impact of Changing Tennis Balls on Player Injuries in Men’s Tennis

Novak Djokovic has attributed the growing incidence of injuries across men’s tennis to the increasing variety of balls used on the ATP Tour.

Several high-profile players are currently suffering from injuries, including Stefanos Tsitsipas (back), Rafael Nadal (hip), Nick Kyrgios (wrist), Andy Murray (shoulder), Denis Shapovalov, and Milos Raonic (both knee).

Players often take breaks for treatment of long-standing injuries towards the end of the season, but Djokovic claims that the current situation is worse than in previous years.

Each tournament negotiates a deal with a ball manufacturer of their choice. For instance, Wimbledon uses Slazenger, while the US and French Opens use Wilson, and the Australian Open uses Dunlop.

This inconsistency results in the slight variation in ball weight from one week to the next, which can negatively affect the players’ bodies as it impacts their hitting arm load.

“There has been a lot of discussions on the effect of the different balls every week on the joints, the wrist, the shoulders and the elbows,” Djokovic said. “Someone told me that in terms of injuries this year comparing to other years it drastically has gone up.

“I absolutely agree there should be some discussion on that…

“I actually spoke about that with Andrea Gaudenzi, the ATP president, and Massimo [Calvelli], who is the CEO, in Paris [during the Masters event]. I shared my opinion and my views. Obviously they are thinking about various different options and ways of how to regulate [the balls] and how to make it better for the players and prevent injuries.”

Djokovic is not alone in expressing dissatisfaction with the constant adjustments. Last month, Daniil Medvedev criticized the ball being used in Chinese tournaments. The same ball will be used in the Davis Cup in Malaga this weekend, where Djokovic’s Serbia take on Great Britain in the quarter-finals.

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He was agonizingly close to winning all four, missing out by the narrowest of margins to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, but since then Djokovic has stamped his authority back on the sport, lifting the trophy in all the events he has played.

In the absence of the injured Murray and Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie and Jack Draper will lead Britain’s challenge.