Tennis News: Emma Raducanu and Tommy Paul

It seems to only be a matter of time before tennis does something to make the balls used in tournaments universal. That is the hope of players anyway. A long list of players have complained of how the constant changing of balls from tournament to tournament has had a negative impact on their health with wrist, elbow, and shoulder injuries being attributed to not using the same ball at every event.

One of the most recent players to voice their concerns was 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu. She has dealt with lots of injuries since winning that Grand Slam including surgeries to both wrists and one ankle. Raducanu is still trying to get back into the form she had in winning the US Open, but she feels the balls are not helping.

At Indian Wells, the vent used Penn-brand tennis balls. The problem was that due to the humidity, the balls were getting heavy with moisture causing them to be quite heavy and adding extra stress to players' joints. The next scheduled Masters 1000, the Miami Open, begins this week but will use Dunlop balls so players will have to adjust once again.

Emma Raducanu has a complaint and Tommy Paul is just hanging out

Raducanu said in a press conference at Indian Wells, "It’s very humid. The balls are very heavy. They are different, which I don’t think is great for any of the players’ wrists, but especially mine. I honestly think it’s really bad for us, the way that we have to switch balls every single week and especially when you’ve gone through surgeries.

"I know a lot of players who are struggling with wrist problems, too. I don’t understand why every other sport is pretty much the same, whereas in tennis it’s different week to week."

Raducanu, possibly because of the ball issue, has decided to withdraw from the Miami Open which is set to start this week. There is no timetable on her return.

Speaking of weeks, Tommy Paul had a couple of good weeks at Indian Wells. Paul moved up to No. 14 in the ATP rankings even though he did not win the event. He still showed he can be a dangerous force on the tour with his bombastic forehand and good serve. But more than Paul's play on the court, he simply seems to be a good guy who would be fun to go on a fishing trip (if one fishes, which I do not) with.

Since Paul had so many afternoon matches at Indian Wells, he was able to just be a regular person after his matches and often enjoyed making a barbeque with his girlfriend in the evenings. According to Tennis.com, Paul said, "I have basically just been chilling at the house watching tennis.

"It’s been nice having the last few matches I’ve been second up, so I’ve been going back and hanging out, watching the later matches. You know, my girlfriend has been cooking up food, we’ve been barbecuing some nights, and just hanging out."

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