Zverev: "I miss the big differences in playing surfaces"

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Alexander Zverev passed with flying colors in his first test at the ATP Finals 2024 by defeating Andrey Rublev. The German is aiming for his third title in this prestigious tournament, having previously won in 2018 and 2021. Following his victory over the Russian, Sascha went to the press conference to address two recurring topics this season: balls and court surfaces. Zverev confessed to missing the significant differences between surfaces which enriched tennis in general. Moreover, he explained why the balls are now slower compared to a few years ago and their impact on players' health.

- Surfaces are hardly distinguishable anymore

"The court is very slow, too slow for an indoor hard court. Not that I'm complaining because I like fast surfaces, I prefer fast surfaces, but actually I don't mind so much. I think right now in tennis we are somewhat losing the variety of playing styles. The reason is, I believe that clay courts and hard courts are practically the same. They have almost the same speed except for Cincinnati and Paris-Bercy, which are faster.

I miss the differences in surfaces a bit because there used to be a clear distinction between clay courts and outdoor hard courts. Some were very slow like Indian Wells, but others were very fast like Canada or Shanghai, which were always very fast. And on indoor hard courts, I think we've lost that a bit by attempting to make all surfaces very similar and almost identical. When Roger was still playing, it was very different; there were significant differences between a clay court, a hard court, and an indoor hard court. I miss that a bit right now."

- Balls are not what they used to be

"The ball is a significant issue. Being part of the players' council, it was an interesting topic for me. I did some research and asked the companies about tennis ball production. Since COVID, all companies have declined significantly in quality. The main reason is that, due to COVID, the companies tried to cut costs using a different rubber material now. They are using a different material for the balls, making them on average 30% to 60% slower compared to how they used to be before COVID. It's not just one company; overall, they are now worse and much slower, less consistent, and don't last as long.

Dunlop balls were great; when they were new, they traveled very fast across the court. Then they would enlarge, but even then, they kept moving because the air and pressure inside did not escape, the ball just inflated. What happens now is that the air and pressure escape due to the material, which doesn't retain them inside. It's not just that they don't inflate, but this air and pressure decrease significantly. That's why many players now have elbow and wrist issues. This didn't occur 10 or 15 years ago.

I'm genuinely very interested in balls; I have no reason to complain. I'm the number 2 in the world, I've had a great season, and I'm not complaining about the results. It's just that I believe, in the long run, players' health is a significant issue with the current balls. They are somewhat like a shuttlecock; they fly very fast the first two or three meters and then lose speed. There's nothing to keep the ball alive, something that was very different 5 or 6 years ago."

- Regarding the pre-match ceremony where Sinner received the end-of-season number 1 trophy

"He's the best player in the world. He has won two Grand Slams and the most Masters 1000 titles this year. Undoubtedly, he deserves to be number one. Of course, I didn't see it because I was preparing for my match, warming up, and immediately heading onto the court. I didn't know Boris presented him with the trophy. It's a great moment for him and Italian tennis. We'll see who will receive that trophy next year."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Zverev: "Echo de menos las grandes diferencias de las superficies"