{"id":293498,"date":"2023-10-30T13:26:18","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T13:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/?p=293498"},"modified":"2023-10-30T13:26:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T13:26:18","slug":"djokovic-holds-talks-with-atp-ceo-as-serb-forces-hand-with-players-complaining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportstoft.com\/tennis\/djokovic-holds-talks-with-atp-ceo-as-serb-forces-hand-with-players-complaining\/","title":{"rendered":"Djokovic holds talks with ATP CEO as Serb forces hand with players complaining"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Novak Djokovic has staged talks with both the president and the CEO of the ATP after complaints from players about the different tennis balls on tour. The likes of Stan Wawrinka and Ben Shelton are among those who aren\u2019t happy with the balls changing every week, claiming they have caused injuries. But Djokovic\u2019s conversations have proven to be positive, as the world No 1 revealed that ATP bosses would be holding meetings to address the issue.<\/p>\n

Changing tennis balls are still causing a storm across the sport, with multiple players calling on bosses to cut down on the number of different balls used across every tournament. After weeks of seeing his rivals complain about the balls, Djokovic may have finally forced the hand of the ATP by speaking with two top bosses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually just had the conversation with Andrea Gaudenzi, president of ATP, and Massimo [Calvelli], the CEO,\u201d the 24-time Grand Slam champion said at this week\u2019s Paris Masters. \u201cBecause I haven’t been on the tour for quite some time, so I haven’t had a chance to talk to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The world No 1 recently spent six weeks away from the tennis court after skipping the Asian swing and learned of the issues by speaking to his colleagues. He continued: \u201cOf course I have seen the comments that more and more players were making about the balls that were used on different tournaments.<\/p>\n

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\u201cActually, Korda, the player that I practised with today, told me that this is fifth tournament now in a row that he’s been playing with different balls. Yeah, this inconsistency is an issue, and that’s what most of the players, and also of course including myself, we complain about.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Djokovic agreed with his rivals\u2019 cries, explaining that using the same balls would eliminate extra injury woes. \u201cYou 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,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe quality of the balls, you know, this is something that again, it’s very relative to the player. Different players play different styles. They like different balls, depending on the surface, et cetera.\u201d Djokovic\u2019s discussions with the ATP figureheads appear to have made a difference, as the 36-year-old revealed that the tour was set to hold meetings about the tennis balls.<\/p>\n