US Open 2022: The game of lawn tennis over the years has gained huge popularity. Names like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Daniil Medvedev have become household names. The US Open has started and it will now see top teams across the globe come under one roof. But as soon as the name US Open comes by, it tags along a controversy with it. A controversy that revolves around the cricket ball. For the past few years now, the controversy surrounding the Tennis ball has become a major one with many players voicing their opinion on the same.
US Open is the only Tennis tournament that uses separate balls for men and women. While the men's format uses Wilson's US Open extra duty balls, women use Wilson's US Open regular duty balls. The lighter balls were used for women as it was argued that heavier balls caused elbow injuries. The balls which are mostly used in the North American hardcourt swing including the Grand Slam tournament are pretty different from the ones that are majorly used throughout the season. This is why the women's tour uses a different kind of ball as compared to the men's tour.
The issue was raised by WTA No. 1 Iga Swiatek. She was pretty unhappy with the ball which made her dissatisfaction very clear. Swiatek backing up her claims with facts said that the balls fly around at pace and draw a lot more errors from the players. She was also critical of the fact that the ATP and WTA tours use different types of tennis balls.
"Oh, my God. Well, honestly, I don't like them. Well, I have heard many players complaining, as well. But basically, the thing is that they are lighter. They fly like crazy. You know, we have really powerful games right now. It's not like 10 years ago except Serena, girls, I think they played slower, right" said Swiatek.
Weighing on the issue, world number 8 Jessica Pegula said that other players on the women's tour feel the same. Pegula was extremely vocal about the issue and said that she isn't a fan of these high-flying balls. Pegula has also vouched to bring this matter up on the Players' Council to bring about a change. On the other hand, there are Tennis players like Petra Kvitova and Madison Keys who are happy with the choice of the balls as it suits their game a lot more.
