"The balls have something to do with my injury" - Pablo Carreno Busta latest to speak on controversy; shares details after having season derailed

Eight months after halting his season due to an elbow issue, Pablo Carreno Busta has come forward with the claim that the balls have played a part in his career-threatening injury. He has thus joined a host of other tennis players who have voiced a similar concern.

Carreno Busta won the biggest title of his career in August last year – a maiden Masters 1000 trophy at the Canadian Open. With a tremendous run of form, the Spaniard, who earned a ranking of World No. 13, looked poised to re-enter the ATP top 10. However, just months later, during the 2022 Davis Cup Finals, he suffered a right elbow injury, which disrupted his preparations for the ongoing season.

Despite the circumstances, Pablo Carreno Busta kicked off his 2023 campaign but was able to play just three ATP tour-level events and managed just one win. Following his appearances at the Adelaide International 2, the Australian Open and the ATP Rotterdam, the Spaniard decided to halt his run due to his worsening injury.

Carreno Busta, currently ranked World No. 195, has now made a return to the courts. He is currently contesting the Malaga Challenger, following an opening-round exit at the Ferrero Challenger Open.

He has now admitted that the frequently changing balls have played a role in his elbow injury.

“I'm sure the balls have something to do with my injury,” he said in conversation with Punto de Break.

“Before Roland Garros I was training with some balls at the Academy to recover from the injury and it was going well. I switched to the Roland Garros balls and after 20 minutes I had to stop because [the injury] had become inflamed again. It is clear that the balls are very different, and the continuous change of balls has an influence,” he added.

Pablo Carreno Busta isn’t the first person to blame the balls for an injury. Several other top tennis players such as Stan Wawrinka, Daniil Medvedev, Ons Jabeur, Taylor Fritz, Stefanos Tsitsipas – who has been dealing with a persistent shoulder injury, and Paula Badosa – who is out of action due to spinal injury, have sounded off on the controversy.

Recently, Portuguese tennis player Elias Gastao, who mainly competes on the Challenger circuit, blasted the ATP for the ‘inhumane’ conditions caused due to the heavier balls. He demanded that the governing body pay for his physiotherapy sessions.

In tune with Gastao's claim, Pablo Carreno Busta revealed that the situation is worse at the Challenger level.

“On the Challenger circuit it is even worse, because more are changed, but on the ATP circuit a lot of balls are also changed,” he said.

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"It has been especially hard mentally" – Pablo Carreno Busta on his injury struggle

Pablo Carreno Busta at the 2022 Paris Masters

Pablo Carreno Busta also made an honest admission about how his elbow injury affected his mental health.

He revealed that the postponement of his comeback due to the injury relapse caused by the balls was especially difficult.

“It has been especially hard mentally because it seemed like I would be able to compete and then I wouldn't. I tried to come back in Indian Wells, then come back in Madrid, then in Winston-Salem, and in the end, it was last week,” the former World No. 10 said.

Carreno Busta earned his first win after his comeback on Tuesday, October 10. He defeated France’s Arthur Cazaux with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback victory in the opening round of the Malaga Challenger.

The Spaniard will now face Italy’s Mattia Bellucci for a spot in the quarterfinals.