Stan Wawrinka and Taylor Fritz join Stefanos Tsitsipas & Daniil Medvedev in pointing finger at frequent ball changes for rise in injuries
Stan Wawrinka and Taylor Fritz have joined the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev in finding fault with the frequent ball changes in every tournament, citing the increased risk of injuries.
Belgian player Zizou Bergs recently raised concerns about the potential link between the constant ball changes in tournaments and the increasing frequency of wrist injuries among players on tour.
"I think it's time to look carefully at the fact that many players are getting wrist injuries which could, possibly, be prevented by not changing every week of balls...," he posted on his Instagram story.
Wawrinka reshared Bergs' post and concurred with the Belgian's concerns.
"Yep 🙄🎾🤦🏻♂️," he posted on his Instagram story.
A post on X (formerly Twitter) documented complaints from players such as Tsitsipas, Medvedev and Sebastian Korda, regarding constant ball changes leading to injuries.
Commenting on the post, Taylor Fritz supported the concern, disclosing that he had been dealing with persistent wrist issues after playing with three different balls in a three-week period during the US Open series.
"Have been dealing w wrist issues since beginning of USO series cause of ball changes ✌🏻 we went 3 different balls in 3 weeks," Taylor Fritz posted.
Alongside Taylor Fritz and Stan Wawrinka, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev have raised concerns about frequent ball changes
In March 2023, Stefanos Tsitsipas expressed concern regarding the change of balls this season, stating that it was a common topic of conversation among players.
The Greek emphasized the importance of maintaining consistency in the type of balls used in order to prevent injury.
"I think the biggest issue this year was the change in balls and that was an issue that has been discussed among the players. Balls need to stay the same in most tournaments and especially on hard surfaces. This benefits us all and protects players from injury," Tsitsipas said, as per SDNA.
Tsitsipas also divulged that other players have shared similar concerns about the balls causing a significant strain on their shoulders, wrists and arms. He also claimed that the shoulder injury he sustained after the Australian Open was due to the change in balls.
"I have had comments from other players about the balls at the beginning of the year and that they had a significant impact on the shoulders, wrists, and arm in general. I think that’s where my injury comes from," he said.
Daniil Medvedev expressed a similar sentiment, asserting that he suffered a wrist injury due to the balls that were used Down Under.
"I want to talk a little bit more about it because in Australia, I felt like these balls were not good for hard courts. Before the match with (Sebastian) Korda 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,'" he said.
In other news, Stan Wawrinka, Taylor Fritz, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev are all expected to be in action at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, which is scheduled to commence on October 4.