Richard Gasquet: "We have a problem since COVID, all the balls are slower there is no longer any doubt about it."

Silverbullet96

Silverbullet96

Hall of Fame
In an interview with L'Equipe on March 30, Richard Gasquet backed up Medvedev's views as he shared his own experience with the new balls, which are much slower in comparison to the balls being used previously. He also commented on the tendency of the balls to get big and balloon up.
"We have a problem since COVID, all the balls are slower there is no longer any doubt about it. I've been saying it for two years, it's nothing new. As soon as they got that big (mimics a balloon), I said to my trainer, 'What is this ****?' Now people are starting to talk about this everywhere, but I'm sure they are not like before," Gasquet said.
Gasquet added that the change in balls hindered his natural playing style as he couldn't exert the same amount of control over the new balls. He expressed his frustration over the "supermarket" quality of the balls in question.
"So they were light, fast, it was one of my strengths, I was able to control them very well. Now, it doesn't matter the brand and with only a couple of exceptions, its quality is close to being supermarket," he added.

www.sportskeeda.com

"What is this sh*t? I'm sure they are not like before" - Richard Gasquet expresses frustration over the change in balls used on the ATP tour

Richard Gasquet recently shared his annoyance regarding the change in the quality of tennis balls used on the ATP tour.
www.sportskeeda.com www.sportskeeda.com
 
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J

Jonesy

Legend
So is it a conspiracy or not? Because Medvedev is going for his 5th straight ATP final without a care in the world, bad balls or not.
 
P

penguin

Professional
kayapit said:
This is pretty fascinating. At first I was thinking it's a brand issue, but he says no. Could there have been a change in raw materials sure to the supply chain problems that affected the whole industry?
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Or a money grab - when nobody can play for an extended period make the balls cheapo while charging the same on the basis that "they won't notice the difference"
 
Aestheticsaboveallelse

Aestheticsaboveallelse

Legend
kayapit said:
This is pretty fascinating. At first I was thinking it's a brand issue, but he says no. Could there have been a change in raw materials due to the supply chain problems, that affected the whole industry?
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This is what I hate about tennis its super confusing why equipment plays so good one day but then you cant reproduce it
 
A

aus89

Hall of Fame
i think its not at all surprising that tennis ball production and delivery would have been hit by covid - there were definitely shortages of supply due to shipping delays... if there were production and supply issues (which there would have been, and probably continue to be) then yeah... quality can be affected if the product is required to be churned out and they cut back on quality control or have to use a different/cheaper supplier for materials, or the stock has spent longer in shipping than it previously might have etc... i think incredibly likely the balls have changed, subtly but enough for a pro to notice.
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
If there are issues with the balls they will show up most heavily on clay for a litany of reasons.

-most shots hit on clay, balls take heaviest beating
-surface which takes spin the most
-slowest surface which requires the most player input to hit winners, by far the highest requirements to generate own pace
-best player hits heaviest topspin maybe ever

Interested to see what happens.
 
Aestheticsaboveallelse

Aestheticsaboveallelse

Legend
Kralingen said:
If there are issues with the balls they will show up most heavily on clay for a litany of reasons.

-most shots hit on clay, balls take heaviest beating
-surface which takes spin the most
-slowest surface which requires the most player input to hit winners, by far the highest requirements to generate own pace
-best player hits heaviest topspin maybe ever

Interested to see what happens.
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Balls will thwart Nadal winning RG this year then. Jk he said its been happening for 2 years
 
Kralingen

Kralingen

Talk Tennis Guru
Aestheticsaboveallelse said:
Balls will thwart Nadal winning RG this year then. Jk he said its been happening for 2 years
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To me Nadal is immune to any ball variance on clay, he can win with every possibility. Even if the balls are dead he still has the highest RHS and best ability to create power and spin. This is why contrary to popular belief I think the “Djokovic Open” night conditions aren’t a big deal, keeps his slice low and allows his defense to shine. Also helps him vs Djokovic who is much more serve-reliant. If it’s a deadball contest he still has the edge.

But it is interesting nonetheless
 
wangs78

wangs78

Legend
At the end of the day everyone is playing with the same balls. For someone like Richard to complain is laughable. It’s not like better balls will change his career achievements in any significant way.
 
kayapit

kayapit

Semi-Pro
wangs78 said:
At the end of the day everyone is playing with the same balls. For someone like Richard to complain is laughable. It’s not like better balls will change his career achievements in any significant way.
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Agree,. They change baseball thread height and bat specs (esp I'm college) pretty frequently. Still though, you can see how it.must be very frustrating for a player, esp one as challenged as Rick.
 
MeatTornado

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
Jonesy said:
So is it a conspiracy or not? Because Medvedev is going for his 5th straight ATP final without a care in the world, bad balls or not.
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wangs78 said:
At the end of the day everyone is playing with the same balls. For someone like Richard to complain is laughable. It’s not like better balls will change his career achievements in any significant way.
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Medvedev has been one of the most vocal critics of the balls, despite his recent success.
 
P

penguin

Professional
wangs78 said:
At the end of the day everyone is playing with the same balls. For someone like Richard to complain is laughable. It’s not like better balls will change his career achievements in any significant way.
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If it is injuring players it is a problem for the tour
 
S

sportsfan1

Legend
Aren't there some atp specifications for tournament balls used on the tour that the manufacturers have to conform to? Ball speed, bounce, materials used etc. So it's not a subjective how people think the balls play slow, fast ..
 
dje31

dje31

Professional
Every manufacturing sector has been affected by supply chain and labor supply.

I've never been a fan of extended warranties, but for big ticket purchases, like appliances, it's probably worth getting it.
 
Rosstour

Rosstour

G.O.A.T.
_phantom said:
I saw you blaming AO balls for Korda's wrist injury. And you seemed damn certain.
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Ah. Memory isn't what it used to be.

The AO balls were apparently really bad. Something weird definitely going on. I'm guessing the materials cost went up like crazy and they had to cut corners somehow.
 
P

Prokne

New User
Didn't they switch balls from the Penn ATP balls to Dunlop balls recently? Like in the past few years? I've never played with the Dunlop ones, but really like Penn ATP and still play with them since they seem to stay good longer than other ones I've used.
 
G

Gerco

Semi-Pro
Prokne said:
Didn't they switch balls from the Penn ATP balls to Dunlop balls recently? Like in the past few years? I've never played with the Dunlop ones, but really like Penn ATP and still play with them since they seem to stay good longer than other ones I've used.
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That´s right, Dunlop made a big move on the ATP/ITF a few years back. Maybe, like some imply here, they cut short on the manufacturing process. Does anyone know where are the balls made?
 
ichaseballs

ichaseballs

Professional
good thing both sides use the same ball
i def do believe that the big corps are cutting costs to make more profit! they will blame rising costs etc but the numbers only show bigger margins
 
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