A lot was made of the court speeds in tennis last year, with many prominent figures in the game voicing their frustrations with the ever-changing conditions at ATP Tour-level events.
It was initially 20-time major champion Roger Federer who sparked the debate in 2025,as the Swiss star called for faster courts on the men’s tour.
World number three Alexander Zverev then went one step further and claimed that the ATP Tour is slowing the courts down on purpose in order to benefit Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
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Changes to court speeds in 2025 were certainly prevalent at the Shanghai Masters and the Paris Masters, with both tournaments slowing down their surfaces.
Now, Venus Williams’ former coach, David Witt, has reignited the discussion in 2026, and also commented on a change in tennis balls used on both tours.
David Witt discusses changes in tennis balls and conditions
Speaking in an episode of Inside-In, “The biggest thing now is that they are changing the balls. Every week, it seems that the balls are fluffing up or not fluffing up, or flying through the air too much. They are too light.
“That is a big thing that I think they are doing a better job of having blocks throughout the year where they are playing with the same ball for x amount of tournaments, or a couple of months and then switching.
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“And the court speed. I mean, the court speed, when you have a ball that is fluffing up and then the court looks like sandpaper. I don’t know why you would do the combination.
“It’s like a clay court, I’m sure the players that love playing on slow clay probably love that.
“But, at the same time, you want it to be fair and if you hit a good shot you want to be rewarded for it. You can’t hit a winner, the balls are so fluffed up and the courts are so slow.”
The changes in court speed at Masters 1000 events so far in 2026
According to courtspeed.com, courts at ATP Masters 1000 events have actually got faster since the 2017 season, with the exception of Paris and Shanghai.
Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Canada and Cincinnati all saw increases in their court pace index (CPI) in 2025 compared to eight years prior.
| Tournament | CPI in 2017 | CPI in 2025 |
| Indian Wells | 27.4 | 30.9 |
| Miaimi | 33.8 | 40.7 |
| Monte-Carlo | 24.9 | 29 |
| Madrid | 20.9 | 26.1 |
| Rome | 22 | 28.9 |
| Canada | 36.3 | 44.6 |
| Cincinnati | 33.6 | 43 |
| Shanghai | 42.9 | 32.8 |
| Paris | 37.5 | 35.1 |
In 2026 so far, however, court speeds have decreased at two of the first three Masters 1000 events.
Indian Wells saw a big increase from 30.9 to 39, while the Monte-Carlo Masters (29 to 26.7) and the Miami Open (40.7 to 40) dropped slightly.
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