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Richard Gasquet recently shared his annoyance regarding the change in the quality of tennis balls used on the ATP tour.
Gasquet is not the only player to bring forth criticism against the change in balls being used on tour. Following his title win at the 2023 Qatar Open, Daniil Medvedev also raised questions about the new balls and linked the changes to the prevalent wrist and elbow injury issues being faced by many players on tour.
In an interview with L'Equipe on March 30, Richard Gasquet backed up Medvedev's views as he shared his own experience with the new balls, which are much slower in comparison to the balls being used previously. He also commented on the tendency of the balls to get big and balloon up.
"We have a problem since COVID, all the balls are slower there is no longer any doubt about it. I've been saying it for two years, it's nothing new. As soon as they got that big (mimics a balloon), I said to my trainer, 'What is this shit?' Now people are starting to talk about this everywhere, but I'm sure they are not like before," Gasquet said.
Gasquet added that the change in balls hindered his natural playing style as he couldn't exert the same amount of control over the new balls. He expressed his frustration over the "supermarket" quality of the balls in question.
"So they were light, fast, it was one of my strengths, I was able to control them very well. Now, it doesn't matter the brand and with only a couple of exceptions, its quality is close to being supermarket," he added.
Richard Gasquet moved by Andy Murray's words of praise
While competing at the 2023 Indian Wells Masters, Andy Murray expressed his appreciation for Richard Gasquet's title win at the ASB Classic.
“I was really happy for [Gasquet] when he won the tournament in Auckland earlier this year. I think he maybe sometimes doesn't get the respect he deserves. He's been an incredible player for such a long time and I just love seeing guys that maybe are not at their peak, but they're still out there giving everything, competing because they love the sport," Murray said at the time.
Richard Gasquet was touched by Murray's words of praise as he acknowledged the mutual respect they shared.
“Of course I was happy when Andy said that. I’ve known him for a long time, mutual respect,” Gasquet said.
Richard Gasquet recently competed at the 2023 Miami Open, where he emerged victorious in his first-round match against Christopher O'Connell. However, Gasquet's time at the tournament was cut short as he had to withdraw from his next match against Stefanos Tsitsipas due to an ankle injury.
