Daniil Medvedev Floats Conspiracy Theory About Tennis Balls

Daniil Medvedev and other tennis players believe something is wrong with the balls.

Daniil Medvedev prepares a serve for Carlos Alcaraz during the ATP final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. / Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

Daniil Medvedev has enjoyed a remarkable season so far. Medvedev has a record of 45-18 and is currently ranked No. 5 in the world. However, the 28-year-old has not won any ATP titles this year, and there could be a reason for that.

Medvedev recently sat down for a 15-minute interview with sports television host and personality Sofya Tartakova. She quizzed Medvedev on a number of issues, and the entire interview is worth watching on YouTube.

One of the more interesting takeaways was Medvedev's focus on the quality of tennis balls. He said, "There are players - many or not, I don't know - who think that during COVID the manufactures struggled to produce the balls, since they were mostly produced in China, I think.

A reminder of how cool it is to chat with players and tell their story. I am a happy person who is lucky to truly love your job

Interview with Daniil @DaniilMedwed here: https://t.co/bp8whA6tbr pic.twitter.com/4rUUEZZ0bB

— Sofya Tartakova (@CentralCourt) October 15, 2024

So, they started to look for alternatives. I've never talked about the balls with Technifibre, but someone at Head told me that they couldn't get the balls from China anymore, and they started to research for other options."

Medvedev continued, "So, during COVID, the balls got cheaper, worse. There's a conspiracy theory, that after COVID the manufactures thought: 'Why make the balls better, more expensive, if these will do?'"

Medvedev pointed to examples of his backhand cross that he used to open the court with in 2019 that no longer works. He compared the new balls to the size of a "plushie toy."

Daniil Medvedev: “We played with the same balls at AO & I had a terrible feeling with them. I injured my wrist before playing Korda. I thought it was my problem, but I talked to other players & there are more elbow, wrist & shoulder injuries. I think the balls are responsible” pic.twitter.com/8gAevhQ5DZ

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 27, 2023

He said it was possible that he was playing worse or less precise, but it could just be the quality of the balls. He concluded, "But in any case, the most important thing for me is to adapt to what we have now."

Fans who watched Medvedev play in the Shanghai Masters earlier this month will remember a situation when he got frustrated with the balls during his second-round match against Thiago Seyboth.

During the opening set of the match, Medvedev complained to the supervisor, "These balls are not good enough for professional tennis. This is one of the biggest tournaments in the world, and the balls are destroyed after five games. No pressure at all."

Daniil Medvedev signs the camera after beating Matteo Arnaldi in Shanghai:

“Nice balls” 😂 pic.twitter.com/mIHNbjZehv

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 6, 2024

In the 2023 China Open, Medvedev called the balls "a joke" during his quarterfinal victory against Ugo Humbert. So, it appears Medvedev has been frustrated with this issue for years.

Fans can watch Medvedev play this week in the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.

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