Daniil Medvedev has once again criticized the level of tennis balls used on the ATP tour. The Russian player addressed this issue after defeating Thiago Seyboth Wild in the Shanghai Masters first round.
Speaking out on some ATP tour-related controversies, Medvedev has never held back. He has previously expressed dissatisfaction regarding the issue of subpar tennis balls.
For the first time, following his victory over Gael Monfils at the China Open, Medvedev discussed the lack of high-quality tennis balls. The former World No. 1 asserted that both players experienced greater fatigue than normal as a result of the subpar quality.
Except for pure ball strikers like Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, Medvedev said it was difficult to hit winners with these balls. Many of the current tennis players, like Stanislas Wawrinka and Nick Kyrgios, have expressed support for this viewpoint.
Medvedev expressed his thoughts about it and said: “To be honest, about the balls, it’s not only me. I talk in the locker room and it’s not only my feeling. My feeling at this point is at this point, the companies try to see how far they can go to make bad balls, and ATP doesn’t say anything. It’s ridiculous.”
He added: “I mean, Beijing, Shanghai, and the US Open were a bit better and Roland Garros was [shakes head]. In my opinion, it’s not good enough balls for a professional level of tennis. If you see when I made some passing shots, I tried to hit the ball, but it just didn’t go from the racquet. It’s ridiculous.”
Daniil Medvedev says the balls being used for some ATP tournaments are not good enough for professional tennis:
“To be honest, about the balls, it’s not only me. I talk in the locker room and it’s not only my feeling. My feeling at this point is at this point, the companies try… pic.twitter.com/9eVrsPVqgO
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 4, 2024
Medvedev in Shanghai, ranking, and results in 2024
Currently ranked no.5, Daniil achieved an overall 43-17 record in 2024. Daniil is playing at the moment in Shanghai where he bested the world no.88 Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5 7-5.
Daniil Medvedev will play the world no.223 Diego Schwartzman in the Round Robin on Sunday at 4:00 pm on CENTER COURT. Their actual record is 6-0 for Medvedev.
The Russian got to the final at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open).
Daniil won 20 titles in his career: 10 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts, 8 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
He is also scheduled to play in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters) after Vienna. The main draw will start on the 21st of October.
