Iga Swiatek slams US Open balls as ‘horrible’ and questions why women cannot use the same as the men

Tennis World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has slammed the balls used at the US open as ‘horrible’ and questioned why men and women use different ones at the major. 

The US Open is the only Grand Slam where two different types of balls are used for the men’s and women’s tournaments, with the latter using lighter balls.

Swiatek believes it presents a disadvantage to harder-hitting players as she claimed the balls were tough to control.

‘I don’t know why they are different than men’s ones,’ Swiatek said at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday. 

‘I don’t know, like, 15 years ago probably women had some elbow injuries because the balls were heavier and they changed them to women’s balls, but right now we are so physically well prepared that I don’t think it would happen. 

‘Plus we can’t get those balls in Europe, or actually, when we buy them at store, they are totally different than the tournament balls, so when I’m practicing with US Open balls at home [in Poland], I’m practicing with men’s ones… 

‘I feel, it’s really hard to control [the women’s balls], but everybody has same conditions, so we are trying to deal with that. I don’t get why they are different, honestly.’ 

The Polish player questioned why women and men played with different balls at the major

The lighter balls are also used in the lead up to the major, including the Western & Southern Open and the Canadian Open where Swiatek crashed out in the round of last 16.

Swiatek is not the only player to have complained about the balls as she and Paula Badosa, currently ranked No. 4, reportedly spoke to WTA CEO and chairman Steve Simon last year and asked whether they could switch to use the same ball as the men.

‘I don’t think it would be a problem because it’s still the same company, it’s Wilson, but, yeah, maybe we should push a bit more,’ Swiatek said. 

‘I stopped actually pushing and trying to convince WTA, because the war in Ukraine happened and I refocused on something else. Yeah, but honestly, any tournament I play with these balls, I didn’t feel well.’

The lighter balls are also used in the lead up, including the Western & Southern Open

Amy Binder, the WTA’s senior vice president of global communications, explained the reasoning behind using the regular felt balls was to reduce the risk of injury but insisted the organization was listening to players’ concerns.

‘The WTA has always utilized regular felt balls for hardcourt play, and we have now begun to hear from a select number of our athletes that they would like to consider a change to using the extra duty ball,’ Binder told ESPN. 

‘The basis behind using the regular felt ball was that it limited the potential of arm, shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries. This is something that we will continue to monitor and discuss further with both our athletes and our sports science teams.’ 

Australian Open champion Ash Barty’s trainer had previously complained about the use of the regular felt balls. 

Ash Barty’s trainer had previously complained about the use of the regular felt balls

After Barty’s Grand Slam win in January, her longtime coach Craig Tyzzer claimed the Australian, who has since retired, would never win at the US Open due to the balls.

‘The US Open really needs to change the ball for the girls, the fact they still use a different ball for guys and girls, it’s a terrible ball for someone like Ash,’ Tyzzer said. 

‘It was the only tournament last year and really for two years where she uses a gut racket, but I had to change her to a poly just to get any sort of control of the ball. If they keep that ball the same, no one like Ash will win that tournament.

‘So I think you see the result at the US Open, it was two players who, you go, ‘Wow, that was, two different players won that?’ There’s no surprise when the ball is like it is.’