Carlos Alcaraz claimed the varying tennis balls on the tour were causing injuries (Image: Getty)
launched a fresh rant over an issue causing “a lot of injuries” on the tennis tour.
The world No. 3 made his Rotterdam Open debut on Tuesday night, needing three sets to get past home hope Botic van de Zandschulp.
Afterwards, Alcaraz explained why it was “difficult” to adapt to the conditions and called on tennis bosses to make a change.
The 21-year-old got revenge over Van de Zandschulp after the Dutchman dumped him out in the second round of last year’s US Open. But it was a tricky match – Alcaraz trailed 5-3 in the first set and dropped the second before racing through the decider to win 7-6(3) 3-6 6-1.
The Spaniard was making his tournament debut at the ATP 500 event, having previously opted to enter the clay court tournaments in Latin America in February. While he enjoyed his first outing in Rotterdam, Alcaraz admitted there was one thing bothering him.
“I had good training sessions to adapt, but it was difficult. New balls, everything seems to go very fast,” he said.
“And after two or three rallies, the ball becomes very big and it is a bit difficult to be able to play aggressively with them.
Carlos Alcaraz made a winning debut in Rotterdam (Image: Getty)
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“Still, I don’t want to complain about that, I feel that you can still show a good level of tennis.”
While Alcaraz doesn’t want to make a fuss, he still believes something must be done to prevent injuries on the tour.
The four-time Major winner continued: “I think there were a lot of injuries last year, a lot of players with elbow or shoulder injuries.
“They need to change something. I know they’re going to change it. Every week, practically every week we have different balls, different conditions, so it’s difficult to adapt to it.
“Of course, we’re here to give our best and give our best. I haven’t had any physical problems because of it so far, I work every day to stay fit, right now I’m fine.”
Alcaraz isn’t the first player to complain about the changing tennis balls – it’s been a big talking point over the last couple of years. Stan Wawrinka previously posted about four different brands of balls being used at four different tournaments in a row.
“When are tournaments going to listen to players?? #injuryprevention,” the three-time Major winner wrote on .
said the differing equipment was “bad for tennis”, while Ben Shelton previously admitted that adapting to varying balls gave him “arm issues”. stepped in at the end of 2023,
“Yeah, this inconsistency is an issue, and that’s what most of the players, and also of course including myself, we complain about,” he said at the time.
“You know, I think there needs to be a bit more consistency with the balls so that we avoid any kind of issues with wrists and elbows and shoulders.”