World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has voiced criticism regarding the tennis balls used at the tournaments in Doha and Dubai.
“The balls are different at every tournament,” Sabalenka stated. “In the Middle East, they were particularly heavy, which puts a significant strain on the body. After Australia, playing on slow courts with balls like that is incredibly challenging. Many players are complaining about shoulder and back pain, and I`m confident the reason is the weight of the balls. It`s time for a change: either use different balls or make them less traumatic.”
She continued, “The balls in the Middle East were shocking to me. After 20 minutes, they became huge, the logos wore off – it was difficult to play. Everything depends on the surface: on slow courts, you need light balls; on fast courts, slightly heavier ones are acceptable. The main thing is to change the types of balls less often because it wears down the body. As I get older, I take more care of my body. Maybe for young players like Mirra Andreeva, this isn`t as crucial yet, but we all need to unite on this issue.”
Sabalenka also shared her thoughts on the electronic line calling system on clay courts, noting some concerns with Hawk-Eye Live during the Stuttgart tournament.
“The electronic line calling system in Madrid worked much better. I didn`t notice a single mistake in ball tracking there,” she commented. “I heard about the situation with Alexander Zverev – there, the system clearly made an error, but as far as I know, they fixed it the next day. Things were worse in Stuttgart: the judge came down to the court, looked at the mark, and called the ball out, even though it was clearly in. Not all judges are ready to admit their mistake and make the correct decision. Making mistakes is normal, we are all human. But right now, I trust the electronic system more than the judges. It reduces the tension between players and officials, and that`s a big plus,” Sabalenka said during a press conference.
