‘I don’t get why women use different balls than men’ - Iga Swiatek slams ‘horrible’ US Open tennis ball rules
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Updated 23/08/2022 at 17:28 GMT
World No.1 Iga Swiatek has criticised WTA and US Open organisers for not using the same balls during the US Swing and at the final Grand Slam of the year in New York compared to other tournaments. The US Open, which takes place from August 29 to September 11, is the only Grand Slam which see men and women use different balls which Swiatek and other top players are not happy about.
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Iga Swiatek has hit out at US Open organisers for using different tennis balls to the men which she claims “many players” have complained about.
The US Open is the only Grand Slam where two different types of balls are used for the men’s and women’s tournaments, with the latter using lighter balls.
This could be a disadvantage to the harder-hitting players and Swiatek has called on equality in terms of the balls that should be used.
"We make more mistakes [with these balls], for sure,” Swiatek told the press after her 6-4 7-5 win over Sloane Stephens at the Cincinnati Masters. “So I don’t think that’s really nice to watch visually I don't know why they are different than men's ones.
"Fifteen years ago probably women had some elbow injuries because the balls were heavier and they changed them to women's balls. But right now we are so physically well prepared that I don’t think it would happen.
“I feel, it’s really hard to control them, but everybody has the same conditions, so we are trying to deal with that. I don’t get why they are different, honestly.”
In 2019, the North American swing saw the WTA tour use different balls at different tournaments. This year that has changed with the United States and Canadian events using the same balls as the US Open.
However, this is still inconsistent with the rest of the season where the women use the same balls as the men.
‘I think those balls are horrible, especially after like three games of really hard playing, they are getting more and more light.
“At the end, you can’t even serve at 170km/h because it’s going to fly like crazy. I think they are pretty bad.”
Swiatek holds discussions with WTA
Complaints about the balls were also made by Ash Barty’s former coach, Craig Tyzzer, who claimed the Australian would never win in New York. Barty, who has retired from tennis, never went beyond the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
World No. 1 Swiatek has revealed she and other top players have discussed the situation with WTA Steve Simon.
“I know that many players complain, and many of them are top 10 [players],” said Swiatek.
“Me and Paula Badosa last year talked with Steve about changing to men’s balls. I don’t think it would be a problem because it’s still the same company.
“Maybe we should push a bit more. I stopped pushing and trying to convince WTA because the war in Ukraine happened and I refocused on something else.”
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