“We are playing on hard court” – Badosa criticises US Open balls
After world No 1 Iga Swiatek complained about the US Open balls used by the women, Spain’s Paula Badosa and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez log in their complaints as well
Paula Badosa, who is not happy with the US Open balls, at the 2021 U.S. Open
Image Credit: AI / Reuters / Panoramic
World No 4 Paula Badosa, of Spain, is the latest top female tennis player to criticise the balls being used by the women for the US Open series.
The 24-year-old took to her Instagram stories to post a picture of the balls that will be used at the final Grand Slam of the season, which kicks off in New York on Monday, to express her dissatisfaction with them.
In the story, Badosa showed the US Open balls for women and men side-by-side. The balls being used by the women indicate they are ideal for clay and indoor surfaces while the men’s indicate they are ideal for hard courts (The US Open and all lead-up events are played on hard courts). Lighter balls are also generally harder to cotnrol, which means there are more likely chances of an error.
Badosa is not the first top WTA player to complain about the balls being used during the US Open series. Last week in Cincinnati, world No 1 Iga Swiatek had complained about the same on similar lines.
“The thing is, the balls are lighter,” Swiatek said. “They fly like crazy. We have really powerful games right now. It’s not like 10 years ago where girls, except Serena (Williams), played slower. Right now we play powerful, and we kind of can’t loosen up our hands with these balls. We make more mistakes, for sure. So I don’t think if that’s like really nice to watch visually. I don’t know why they are different than men’s ones.”
Doubles specialist Nicole Melichar-Martinez also not with different US Open balls for men and women
Doubles specialist Nicole Melichar-Martinez, the 2018 Wimbledon mixed doubles champion and a two-time women’s doubles finalist at the Slams, is also among those not happy with the balls as she went on Twitter to say that using different balls in the women’s events and mixed doubles event could lead to more injuries.
Tennis coach Daniel Vallverdu also supported Badosa, saying the extra duty ball should be used for both the men’s and women’s tournament.
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