Casper Ruud offered his view on the tennis balls that are used on the ATP Tour.
The talk of the balls used on the tour has increased in recent seasons with some players expressing their displeasure with their quality.
The Norwegian is a player who likes to apply significant amounts of topspin on the ball and some balls enable him to do that more easily than others.
He had no issues with the balls at the ATP Finals on Monday though, as Ruud defeated Carlos Alcaraz for the first time.
What does Casper Ruud think about the balls used on the ATP Tour?
The ATP Tour does not use the same tennis balls at each event.
Different balls are in operation at the discretion of the tournament and they may choose certain balls depending on the court conditions.
During his post-match press conference after beating Alcaraz, Casper Ruud described the different balls used on the ATP Tour and suggested there should be more consistency with how they are used.
“The thing with the balls for me is, how I look at it, it’s that each tournament has the right and possibility to have which ball they want to play with which sometimes can be an issue,” Ruud told reporters.
“I understand that if you have a stretch of four tournaments in the same continent and they all use different balls it can be difficult and challenge.
“At the same time you have certain players who like the ATP Dunlop ball, some players prefer the Wilson ball, some players technofibre ball. If you just stick to one ball it would be in a way a bit unfair to someone who likes the technofibre ball or a guy who likes the Wilson ball over the Dunlop ball.
“I feel also on an indoor hard court when it’s rough and grainy they fluff up a little too much, so it’s difficult because all the players rip the ball these days and the balls just don’t last the way they used to with slicker courts.
“Let’s see what happens in the future, I think there needs to be somewhat more consistency with the balls, but it also leads to more opportunities when you have different balls at different tournaments.”
Which other player criticised the tennis balls at the ATP Finals?
In addition to Ruud, Alexander Zverev also shared his thoughts on the new tennis balls at the ATP Finals.
Zverev spoke on the matter after defeating Andrey Rublev in his first match at the men’s season-ending championships in Turin.
“The main reason is that, due to COVID, the companies tried to cut costs using a different rubber material now,” the German said.
“They are using a different material for the balls, making them on average 30% to 60% slower compared to how they used to be before COVID.
“It’s not just one company; overall, they are now worse and much slower, less consistent, and don’t last as long.
“I’m genuinely very interested in balls. I believe, in the long run, players’ health is a significant issue with the current balls.”
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