Taylor Fritz has been debating tennis balls for most of this Fall. A routine win in Shanghai did nothing to cool him down, and he made sure everyone knew it. The 11th seed beat Matteo Arnaldi 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the third round of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. The match lasted around two hours and was finished under the roof on Grandstand 2 after rain. The scoreline suggested a comfortable victory, but Fritz was far from relaxed in his on-court interview. 

“Just when the balls get worn out, I can hit the ball on a line as hard as I can,” Fritz stated. “Then on the other line as hard as I can, and then he just passes me and hits a full shot.” 

When balls are worn, they don’t maintain their pace and allow more time for the returner to set up and swing harder, and that is exactly what Fritz had a problem with. 

“Thank goodness they fixed the courts this year. They’re faster, so at least you can still play, but, I mean, these balls are super fast when they’re new, and then they wear out super quick…” 

In other words, the quicker courts are doing part of the job, but the balls keep undoing it. The wear is what turned point-finishing into a chore for him. 

“Once they wear out, oh my God, it’s torture trying to finish a point. It’s really tough.”

Fritz broke in the 11th game of the first set and served it out. He broke early in the second as well, then held his nerve when Arnaldi pulled the break back after a physio visit for a right shoulder problem. Fritz went back in front at 4-3 and closed it out, which made the head-to-head 2-1 in his favor. 

Fritz likes to keep his rallies shorter, and balls are unable to let him do that. His complaints about the balls are a serious complaint because they dictate how the sport would be played on a given day. 

The 28-year-old American is not new to this argument either, Shanghai was the latest chapter in a story that began weeks ago.

Fritz’s ball complaints began long before Shanghai

The former world No. 4 spoke about the subject at length on the Big T Podcast last month. He explained that the balls he trains with and the ones he plays in the tournaments are completely different and that difference drains his motivation. Tournaments across the calendar use different balls, and every player has to relearn how each one feels off their racket, jumping from one event to another. 

The problem sharpened for Fritz after the US Open, where he lost in the third round to Francisco Cerundolo. Back home, the American found that the balls he could practice with felt nothing like the ones used in matches. He described the Dunlop balls sold in stores as extremely lifeless. To fix it, he special-ordered the Yonex balls used in Tokyo and Shanghai, because they were not available in US stores, and they arrived in time for a full week of practice before the Laver Cup.

Fritz also disagreed with the notion that courts have become slower. Over the years, he feels the courts have remained at the same pace, and it’s the balls that have been the problem. His complaints are aimed at the professional level, since softer store-bought balls may even suit recreational players. When things are put in that perspective, the comments make sense as a faster surface cannot help much when the balls are completely flat. 

Fritz is currently ranked No. 12 on the ATP rankings and sits 12th in the ATP Finals Race, chasing a place in Turin for a third straight year. The American’s best appearance in Shanghai came in 2024, when he reached the semifinals and then lost to Novak Djokovic in a close straight-sets match. He has won a title this season in Washington, but to make it to the top 8 for qualification, he needs to get some results in his favor before November 8. 

He will lock horns with former world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round, where the Greek edges the American in the head-to-head, 4-2. Tsitsipas registered the 400th win of his career in the previous round, where he defeated 18th seed Luciano Darderi in straight sets. 

The 28-year-old is on a redemption arc in his career with Patrick Mouratoglou, reaching the round of 16 at the US Open for the first time in his nine appearances in New York. Plenty of things to look forward to in the match, but will the faster surface compensate for the slow balls for the American?