Jessica Pegula Calls for Better, More Consistent Tennis Balls – “They Just Don’t Last”

By Chloe Wellington-Hunt

X: @chloemwhunt

Jessica Pegula says she could talk about tennis balls for a long time. Unfortunately, she says, professional players have already been forced to do exactly that.

“We’ve talked a lot about these fricking tennis balls, like, until the cows come home. Oh, my gosh,” Pegula half-joked.

What may sound like a minor equipment complaint has become a serious and persistent issue across professional tennis. Players must adjust not only to different opponents, courts and climates, but also to balls that can vary between tournaments—even when they appear, at least according to the label, to be the same product.

Pegula explained that the problem is far more complicated than one brand producing a good or bad ball.

“It’s hard. It’s just hard because — and you learn a lot about it. There’s different manufacturers, so obviously different countries. So different tournaments get the same ball, but it’s from a different place that makes them, so it feels different,” Pegula said.

Two tournaments can therefore use what is technically the same ball without the players experiencing it in the same way. Manufacturing location is only one factor. The court surface can dramatically alter the condition of the ball once play begins.

“I think the surface of the court, and does it fit with the ball? Sometimes the balls are okay, but you put it on a gritty court, and they get really chewed up,” Pegula said.

Then, there is the effect of the weather on the ball–heat, humidity, cold weather, et cetera.

“The weather, sometimes it’s really hot and humid. Sometimes it’s cooler. So that dictates whether they fly or don’t fly. There are so many variables. Even day-to-day how they change from it being maybe cooler today, but hot the other day,” Pegula said.

The combination of manufacturing differences, court texture and weather makes uniformity difficult. Pegula acknowledged that finding one perfect ball for every tournament may be nearly impossible.

“So it’s kind of like an impossible thing it feels like to solve,” Pegula said.

Still, she believes the sport can reduce the number of changes players experience throughout the season. Pegula said she was happier during stretches when tournaments consistently used Dunlop balls, not necessarily because every ball was perfect, but because the players could become accustomed to one product.

“I do think I’ve been more happy with the fact that we had the Dunlop balls for a lot of the beginning of the year, so at least you just get used to one ball,” Pegula said. “I think where you get frustrated is where you’re constantly changing.”

That constant turnover can force players to adapt their timing, movement and physical preparation from one week to the next.

“I know at one point the men were playing with three different balls in three weeks. That’s crazy. Like, you ask any other sport to kind of deal with that, and they’re, like, ‘Are you joking?’ That wouldn’t happen. So it sounds silly, but it does make a big difference,” Pegula said.

Although complaints about tennis balls have frequently been associated with ATP players, Pegula made it clear that the issue is also widely discussed in the women’s locker room.

“I think the girls definitely — we definitely do talk about it,” Pegula said.

For WTA players, the concerns extend beyond performance. Pegula said the tour has examined whether particular balls could be connected to increased physical complaints, especially involving the upper body.

“I think a lot, too, with injuries, because maybe we’re a little bit smaller, not as strong as the guys, and stuff like that that you have seen them take a lot of data based off of when we had, like, the extra duty balls versus the regular duty balls, were girls getting more injured? I think there was actually more wrist, shoulder, elbow complaints coming into the physios. So they’re tracking a lot of that stuff,” Pegula said.

The central concern, she emphasized, is player health.

“I think player, obviously, like the health is really the main concern. Having to change a ball every single week is something your body is not used to, as well. Is it a good change, or is it a bad change? Are you seeing more injuries or less? There’s just so many factors that go into it,” Pegula said.

A ball that moves differently can require players to alter their swings and generate power in different ways. When those changes occur from tournament to tournament, the body is repeatedly asked to adjust.

Pegula’s preferred solution is greater stability.

“I’m hoping that we can just get to less changes and a more stable ball that hopefully is a better quality, because I do think since probably COVID that the quality has gone down immensely,” Pegula said.

The decline, in Pegula’s view, is most noticeable in the ball’s durability.

“To me, the main thing since COVID has been the quality. They just don’t last. They get chewed up. They either get really super fluffy or they get really thin. They just don’t last. They don’t play the same way as when you start,” Pegula said.

Pegula shared that the difference in ball quality from one batch to the next even during the match is astronomic.

“If we can’t solve the ball problem, the new balls to the old balls, it’s like two different matches sometimes,” Pegula said.

Even opening a new can does not always guarantee consistency. Pegula questioned whether balls used during the North American hard-court swing may differ depending on when they were manufactured, purchased or stored.

“I think every year around this time I do feel like there’s a dropoff a bit with the Wilson quality. One, because when we’re at home practicing and you buy them off the shelf, they’re definitely not the same as, like, when you get to US Open,” Pegula said.

“Also, I’m not sure if the tournaments are buying at the same time the Open does, because I know the Open, I think they actually order them the year before. I don’t know, are those like the freshest out-of-the-factory tennis balls, and then maybe here and Cincinnati and Toronto they’re using the same ball, but have they been sitting around for a year? I don’t know.”

Pegula said those are the types of questions players and council members have attempted to examine.

“So there’s a lot of those things where I think on council we try to narrow it down. Like, okay, why does this feel different? What are all these factors happening?” Pegula said.

If manufacturers and tournaments cannot immediately solve the quality problem, Pegula believes another option is available: replace the balls more frequently during matches.

“I think we’ve also talked about, which I don’t know if the men have, changing balls sooner. Because if the qualities change, I’ve always been a proponent, then why don’t we just change balls sooner?” Pegula said.

Traditionally, balls are replaced after the first seven games and then every nine games thereafter. Pegula suggested reducing the gap.

“I’m a fan of I think instead of 7 and 9, it should be maybe 7 and 7. I don’t see why we can’t do that,” Pegula said.

She acknowledged that introducing more frequent changes would require tournaments to purchase significantly more balls. Still, it could limit the difference between the newest and most heavily worn balls used during a match.

“Or 5 and 7 or something. I don’t know how the men feel about that, but at least there’s not as much variation in that ball that you’re using. But then, of course, everyone is, like, oh, we have to order X amount of more balls,” Pegula said.

The discussion may appear technical, but it affects nearly every element of a professional match: speed, bounce, timing, movement, shot selection and physical strain. And more–just feel. Feel of a serve, a stroke, everything.

“Tennis ball conversation, I don’t know, it’s a lot, but…” Pegula said.

She then aligned herself with fellow American Taylor Fritz, who has spoken extensively about the same subject.

“I’m with Taylor. I could talk about tennis balls just, unfortunately, for a long time,” Pegula said.

Pegula will play in the semi-finals at the WTA 500 event against Diana Shnaider. While Pegula’s run in Washington continues into the semifinals, the conversation surrounding tennis-ball quality is unlikely to end anytime soon.

Jessica Pegula (Courtesy of Mubadala DC Open)