World No. 1 Iga Swiatek called out the U.S. Open in a press conference this week and the Grand Slam tournament’s usage of separate tennis balls for the men’s and women’s players.
The U.S. Open, which begins on Monday, Aug. 29, remains as the only Grand Slam tournament to use different balls for the men and the women.
“I don’t know why they are different than men’s ones,” Swiatek said at this week’s Western & Southern Open. “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 U.S. Open balls at home [in Poland], I’m practicing with men’s ones.”
