As tennis has grown as a sport, the demands imposed on players have become more and bigger. This is not just in terms of pure skill but also physical attributes, as today’s game is significantly more physical than tennis 30 years ago.
Some alterations include changes in the tennis balls, which are heavier these days than before. That was a hugely controversial change that didn’t garner agreement from many players for obvious reasons.
We’ve seen a surge in the shoulder, elbow, and, most significantly, wrist injuries among players, which many attribute to the heavier tennis balls. Raducanu is one of those players who coped with a wrist ailment.
She had to have surgery for it and lost 8 months of action because of the surgery. Dominic Thiem’s wrist injury practically killed his career and it’s a concern.
Players have been moaning about it for a couple of years now, but nothing has actually changed thus far. Raducanu, as she told the Telegraph, is not a fan of the balls in use.
“It was crucial for me to take time to adjust onto the grass because the balls over the grass season are heavy. I feel like the conditions are simply becoming slower and slower on the grass courts. Especially for myself having undergone wrist surgeries, I really needed to prioritise the shift.”
“I’m not the only one having wrist troubles. I’m probably simply the one who’s had them most publicly. So, I believe for me it’s absolutely a factor where I have to miss certain events because either the conditions or the balls just don’t favour my scenario.”
Raducanu, like many of her colleagues, wants to see a change to better protect players’ health because the wrist is a delicate part of a tennis player’s body and is under a lot of pressure with the current Tour’s structure.
“I believe wrists are always really delicate and I think especially with how the tour is right now, and the fact we have to change balls every single week pretty much, and they don’t regulate the ball.”
Wrist Injuries: Emma Raducanu Raised An Alarm About The Rise, Starting The Possible Cause
Emma Raducanu complained about the spike in wrist injuries before of the grass season, as she had to undergo surgery for her own wrist troubles last year.
