Lauren Davis, whose withdrawal allowed Emma Raducanu into Australian Open main draw, blames constant ball changes on WTA Tour for injury

Lauren Davis withdrew from the 2024 Australian Open due to a shoulder injury, which enabled Emma Raducanu to secure a spot in the main draw. The American has now attributed her shoulder injury to the frequent ball changes on the WTA Tour.

Several players have expressed their dissatisfaction with the frequent changes made to tennis balls on Tours, citing the negative impact these alterations have had on them. They have linked these frequent modifications to the increasing number of wrist and elbow injuries suffered by many on the tour.

Recently, Davis took to social media to state the reason behind her withdrawal from this year's Australian Open. She wrote that she will be missing the Melbourne Slam because she is undergoing rehabilitation for a shoulder injury, which she believes was caused by 'the many changes in balls.'

"Really sad to be missing the trip down under this year. Rehabbing a shoulder injury due to the many changes in balls. Will be back soon!" Davis captioned her Instagram story.

Lauren Davis' Instagram story

Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu had used her Special Ranking of World No. 103 to secure a spot in the Australian Open qualifiers. However, several main draw withdrawals from players including Karolina Muchova, Irina-Camelia Begu, Caty McNally, Petra Kvitova and ultimately Lauren Davis, allowed the Brit to bypass the qualifiers altogether and secure a place in the main draw.

Raducanu recently made a comeback after an eight-month hiatus and had a winning start at the 2024 ASB Classic. She won her first match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse but was eliminated after a 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-1 loss to Elina Svitolina in the following round.

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Emma Raducanu on her return to court: "To be back up to this speed after so little is a great sign"

Emma Raducanu at the 2024 Women's ASB Classic

Despite her loss to Elina Svitolina at the 2024 ASB Classic, Emma Raducanu maintained a positive outlook and expressed her satisfaction with her performance.

“Of course, pretty exciting, for me, I have already played two matches and also my court time has been pretty limited. I have been training the last few months at the LTA, but I had a few setbacks with my wrists and ankles. So yeah, to be back up to this speed after so little is, it is a great sign,” Emma Raducanu said at her post-match press conference.

Raducanu expressed her disappointment with the loss but also stated that she was happy with how she managed to take the game deep and not simply hand Svitolina the win.

“And of course, I am disappointed today, because I was a few points away and had a few forehands midcourt… but at least I took them,” Emma Raducanu said. “I think I’d regret it more had I just pushed it in and let her hit the winner.”

Raducanu also said that she was excited for the season and is looking forward to everything that is to come.

”So at least it was on my terms, and yeah, I am looking forward to the season. It’s just the beginning, it is week one of the season. Yeah, a lot more to come,” she added.