Ridiculous reason US Open women played with different balls to men and the movement which changed it
The US Open officially kicks off tomorrow, marking the final annual Grand Slam tennis tournament of the calendar year.
Held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, the annual competition sees players from around the world compete for millions of dollars in prize money.
But did you know that the 2023 event marked the first time in the tournament’s history that men and women players hit the same tennis balls?
Yep, that’s right; prior to just a few years ago, the balls were different for each gender, which sparked complaints in 2022 from female players, who felt they were hitting inferior products.
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At the time, it was the only Grand Slam that saw men and women use different balls.
While men would play with Wilson’s extra duty tennis balls, which were specifically developed for hard courts, women would use regular duty balls that are less durable, play faster, and were more appropriate for indoor courts, as reported by The I Paper.
Iga Świątek was among the players who spoke out at the time, saying they ‘made more mistakes’ with the balls as they’re ‘harder to control’.
As reported by TNT Sports, she said: “We make more mistakes [with these balls], for sure. So I don’t think that’s really nice to watch visually. I don't know why they are different than men's ones.”
She added: "Fifteen years ago, probably women had some elbow injuries because the balls were heavier and they changed them to women's balls. But right now we are so physically well prepared that I don’t think it would happen.
“I feel it’s really hard to control them, but everybody has the same conditions, so we are trying to deal with that. I don’t get why they are different, honestly.”
As we say, this was swiftly changed in 2023, after complaints from female players.
During the 2022 US Open, the tournament’s director Stacey Allaster announced that the USTA would be using the same ball for both women and men during the 2023 event.
He said during a press conference: “Every year, the WTA informs us of what Wilson US Open ball they would like their athletes to play with.
“Last year during the tournament, we had some players that wanted to change the ball, and I met with some of those players and said, 'Look, talk to [WTA chairman and CEO] Steve Simon. Talk to your player council representatives. If the WTA wants to change the ball, no problem, Wilson can accommodate that.’”
Eric Butorac, the then-director of player relations for the United States Tennis Association and former doubles pro, told PEOPLE Magazine: "We had used different balls for the men and women for a lot of years.
"But the women's players as an organization came to us, and they said that they wanted to use Wilson extra-duty balls."
"So we said, 'Great, no problem.’ I think it's a positive thing."
Women were also only granted equal prize money at the US Open in 1973, when it became the first Grand Slam to do so, led by tennis legend Billie Jean King.
It was a landmark change, as in 1972, the men’s singles champion Ilie Năstase received $25,000 compared to just $10,000 for Billie Jean King.
The change meant that the following year, both champions got a $25,000 payout, marking a 150% increase in women’s prize money.
Madison Burgess