Alcaraz, Medvedev, Tsitsipas & Co. - Why the injury devil is raging on the ATP tour this season
The injury devil is raging on the ATP tour this season. This not only has to do with the balls, but also with them.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit:
Apr 05, 2023, 02:12 pm
For the organizers of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo, Tuesday went down in the history books as a pitch-black day. With Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, two absolute crowd favorites canceled their participation due to injuries, Felix Auger-Aliassime will also not start in the Principality due to knee problems. Neither does his compatriot Denis Shapovalov.
While Shapovalov gave no reason for his absence, the cancellations of Alcaraz, Nadal and Auger-Aliassime show that tennis currently has a major problem with injuries, especially on the men's side. There are many reasons for this, but some of them can also be traced back to grotesque decisions.
Loud criticism of the balls
It seems at least questionable why different balls were used for the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells (Penn) and Miami (Dunlop). Especially since both manufacturers are not necessarily known for making the professionals smile with their playground equipment anyway. For example, Nadal, Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev were extremely critical of the Dunlop balls, which were also used at the Australian Open.
"I think (...) these balls are not good for hard court tennis. They open up quickly and (...) it's almost a shock when you hit them," Medvedev said on the sidelines of the ATP 250 tournament in Doha. Mind you, an event that the former world number one won.
Tsitsipas agrees with Medvedev
In addition to Medvedev, who struggled with wrist problems at the Australian Open, Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Sebastian Korda, among others, had to take a break this season due to arm problems. Tsitsipas, not necessarily branded as Medvedev's best friend on the tour, agreed with the Russian on his criticism of the balls. "I think that's what caused my shoulder injury," said the 24-year-old.
Naturally, the dense tournament calendar also contributes to the numerous injuries on the tour. Now this is less of a problem for the absolute top players in the scene, but in the lower regions of the world rankings the fight for points and money is often of an existential nature. And thus a reason to go beyond the pain threshold from time to time.