America’s Taylor Fritz has called out the difference in the quality of the tennis balls after getting knocked out of the US Open. Fritz opened up on the quality of the balls that were used in the New York Major and their retail equivalent. 

After winning his first two rounds, Fritz was stunned by Francisco Cerundolo in the third round of the US Open. After his exit, Fritz let out his frustration over the quality of the balls in a massive rant post on X.

He wrote on X, “The amount of effort I have to use to just produce a regular rally ball with these balls is insane. I’m having to throw my whole body into shots and swing out of my shoes just to produce a solid rally ball. Beyond being frustrating, it feels like it’s creating bad habits. I’m having to adjust the way I hit just to compensate for a ball that behaves nothing like the one we use in competition.”

“I’ve noticed such a significant difference between retail balls from both Wilson and Dunlop and their tournament equivalents, which are supposed to be identical, that it completely changes how you want to construct points and take risks on shots and just play points in general. It’s disappointing that this has started to feel normal. Training is a lot less enjoyable, and a lot less productive, when you’re spending it practicing with balls that are so different from what you’ll use when it matters.”

Fritz had a golden opportunity to go deep at the home Slam in the absence of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, who was stunned in the opening round. But he suffered a five-set loss against Cerundolo.

The American will be next seen in action in the Davis Cup, with the USA all set to play Czechia on September 18 and 19 in Prague.