'Chopping and changing': How tennis balls are contributing to an injury crisis

(Getty/Clive Brunskill)

Injuries are part and parcel of any professional sport. How you deal with them, how you find a way to avoid them through meticulous preparation and recovery, will go a long way toward deciding how long you can compete. Some are luckier than others, of course, but as the US Open begins in New York this weekend, there is a growing feeling that something needs to be done to extend professional tennis players' careers.

None of this is new. Players have long bemoaned the length of the calendar, which is almost 11 months these days (longer if players go on 'holidays' at hotels in the off-season where they offer a few coaching lessons or exhibitions in return for a free stay, but that's another story). But the increasing number of serious injuries every year is taking its toll on the players, and as a result, the product is diminished.

Just look at the casualty list. This year's US Open will be without the world No.1 on the men's side, Jannik Sinner, who pulled out because of a knee injury. Carlos Alcaraz is in the field but has not played singles since April due to a wrist injury. He played in the mixed doubles event on Tuesday with Serena Williams and looked good, but who knows how he'll respond over five sets, or even whether he'll make it to the starting line.

Elena Rybakina, who has a great chance to dethrone Aryna Sabalenka for the No.1 ranking for the first time, injured her ankle in Cincinnati and must be doubtful. Holger Rune has been out all year due to an Achilles injury, João Fonseca misses out with abdominal issues, Jack Draper still hasn't recovered from a long-term arm problem, Emma Raducanu has a stress fracture in her foot and hasn't played since Queen's in June. Sebastian Korda and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will not be there either.

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It's hard to nail down what the tipping point is, but it's a fact that the calendar is too long and too crowded and that the physicality of the sport is increasing year on year. Players hit the ball harder, points last longer, matches last longer; ergo, more wear and tear on the body.

Players are also very concerned about the tennis balls used on Tour. Anecdotally, they say the balls fluff up quicker than before, which of course makes them bigger, effectively, and requires more effort to put away. The other issue, for the players, is the chopping and changing between balls throughout the year.

According to Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams and most recently Rune, injuries are significantly up in 2026. Using stats from the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA), he posted a graphic on social media that said upper body injuries were up 42 per cent in the first quarter of the year; arm injuries were up 112 per cent, match-ending injuries were up 53 per cent, and re-injuries were up 55 per cent.

The balls are an issue the ATP and WTA have been looking to address. In early 2024, they commissioned a "strategic review" into the tennis balls used on Tour, but since then, nothing official has been announced.

In a statement to The First Serve, the WTA said: "The WTA launched a Tour-wide review of tennis ball consistency in 2024, with a focus on player health, performance, and improving consistency across the season. The long-term goal is a more standardised approach.

"We're currently operating under interim guidelines through 2026 while continuing to work toward a longer-term solution. This remains an active area of collaboration with players, tournaments, manufacturers, and other governing bodies. We're making good progress, but do not have specific updates to share at this time."

The ATP is doing the same, and though we await official announcements, The First Serve has learned that a lot of work has actually been done behind the scenes, involving blind testing, player consultations, the tweaking of rules (including toying with reducing the number of games between ball changes from nine to seven) and more.

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Most importantly of all, they are making significant headway in the bid to ensure that each swing – hard courts, clay courts and grass has the same ball for all of their tournaments. That's not the same ball across the year, but when a player competes in a particular swing of the season, they'll use the same ball at each event.

For example, in 2024, a different ball was being used at each of seven consecutive events on hard courts: Dallas, Delray Beach, Doha, Dubai, Acapulco, Indian Wells and Miami. That's a crazy situation, and not surprising at all that players should be upset. Now, for 2026/27, all seven of those events will use the same ball, the Dunlop ATP.

It seems that the issue is restricted mostly to hard courts. On clay and grass, the same ball is used throughout: Dunlop for the clay and Slazenger for the grass.

Homogenising the balls in swings has not been easy. Tournaments have their own ball sponsors, so making sure they're happy with the situation is also important. But the good news is that steps are being taken and that, from 2027, at least, players will get the consistency they are asking for.

It will be fascinating to see whether injuries are reduced as a result, but this would seem to be a good start.

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