PLAYER REVOLT: TAYLOR FRITZ LEADS MASSIVE OUTCRY AGAINST INDIAN WELLS' NEW TENNIS BALLS
Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev are sounding the alarm over "terrible" Dunlop tennis balls ahead of the 2026 Indian Wells Masters.
Taylor Fritz isn’t happy with the new Dunlop tennis balls. Honestly, he thinks the quality “dropped a lot” just as everyone heads into Indian Wells, the first Masters 1000 event of the year.
This year, Dunlop is taking over from Penn as the official ball supplier. But in the weeks before the tournament, players started complaining. They just don’t like how these balls feel and play.
Fritz joined in, saying the Dunlop balls are slow and wear out way too fast. He didn’t hold back; he flat-out said they just aren’t up to standard.
“The next tournament is Indian Wells, and, honestly, it’s going to be very interesting,” Fritz said. “This year they’re changing the ball, and we’ll be playing with the Dunlop, which is the one we use most on the tour.
“The thing is, the Dunlop, in general, is slow. When it wears down, it gets even slower, and lately it’s been wearing down very quickly. I really think the quality of the balls has dropped a lot.”
Fritz offered a fix: swap out the balls more often. Right now, he says, players go too many games between changes.
“On fast courts, the Dunlop works very well, but on slow courts it’s awful. It wasn’t such a big problem before, so I think the frequency of ball changes should also be changed. Seven or nine games are too many. The other day, at 3-3 in the first set, I was looking at the ball and thinking, ‘How are we playing professional tennis with this?’ It’s ridiculous.”
Fritz isn’t the only one complaining. Daniil Medvedev, never shy with his opinions, said it’s impossible to play with Dunlop balls. “The problem is when you touch it with the racket, it does not react the same way on your shots, so how do you want us to play tennis?” he said.
World No. 6 Alex de Minaur agreed. He struggled with the balls even in practice and said they’re just tough to control. “I have struggled a lot in practice,” de Minaur said. “I have actually been quite frustrated with the balls in practice, which is not like me. I do get what Daniil says about the balls. They are definitely not my favourite. I don’t think they are anyone’s favourite balls. They are very difficult to control.”
Arthur Fils didn’t mince words either: “They are terrible. Really terrible. The ball is very bad. It is unbelievable.”
UNEARTHING THE MURRAY BLUEPRINT: CAN PETCHEY GIFT EMMA RADUCANU THAT MISSING GRAND SLAM GRIT?
Emma Raducanu flips the script! Discover why Mark Petchey is back, the Murray connection, and the plan for Indian Wells 2026.
Emma Raducanu has brought Mark Petchey back onto her team just before Indian Wells. She split from Francisco Roig after the Australian Open in January.
Since then, she’s been working with Alexis Canter, who’s still in her corner. Now Petchey’s joining in a more flexible, as-needed role. He actually coached her from March to July last year.
It’s a bit surprising; honestly, just a few days ago, Raducanu said she wasn’t searching for a new coach. Talking to the Guardian, she explained, “Right now, I have Alexis in my corner. He knows me as a person. He knows me as a player.”
She’s hoping this new team clicks at the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, especially after making the final at the Transylvania Open not long ago. Petchey, by the way, coached Andy Murray when he was just starting. When Murray and Petchey parted ways, Murray was open about it.
“Mark has been a big part of my success in the last 10 months, and we had a great run together, but we have had a difference of opinion regarding some aspects of my game,” Murray said back in April 2006. “It was a very difficult decision and based solely on the development of my tennis.”
Their partnership didn’t even last a whole year, but Petchey was there when a teenage Murray won his first ATP title in February 2006. Petchey saw something special in him right from the start.
After they split, Petchey said, “I am very proud of what we have achieved together, getting Andy into the top 50 and winning his first ATP title at the age of 18. I do not doubt that Andy will make the top 10 and be a Grand Slam winner in the future, and I wish him every success.”
Murray outdid all those predictions, picking up three Grand Slams and two Olympic golds. Still, there was never any bad blood. In 2016, with Murray at world No. 1, Petchey called him Britain’s greatest-ever sportsman.
He told Sky Sports, “I just think for Andy, with the way his opponents can impact his performance, the things he has to do to overcome them tactically, you saw it this week, the different styles of players, the different surfaces, criss-crossing the globe the way he does. For me, he is [Britain’s greatest ever sportsman], but there will be others who definitely disagree.”
BROOKSBY OUT: AMERICAN STAR'S DREAM RUN ENDS AS DANIIL MEDVEDEV CLINCHES CLINICAL DUBAI VICTORY
Medvedev through. Get the report on his 6-2, 6-1 win and his thoughts on Brooksby’s suspected shoulder injury.
Daniil Medvedev is through to the semi-finals at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after beating Jenson Brooksby.
Medvedev has looked sharp in Dubai. He started by beating Juncheng Shang in straight sets, then cruised past Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3 in the Round of 16. That win over Wawrinka, who was playing his last match in Dubai, set up this quarter-final against Brooksby.
Honestly, Brooksby never really got going. Medvedev broke him right away in the first game and kept the pressure on for the whole 57 minutes. He didn’t face a single break point and never let Brooksby settle into the match.
Medvedev’s serve looked rock solid, and he was all over Brooksby’s second serve. He won a big chunk of his first-serve points and made the most of his break chances. Brooksby, on the other hand, barely managed a couple of winners the entire match.
The score pretty much tells the story. Medvedev snatched the first set with no trouble, then broke serve three more times in the second to wrap things up without much fuss.
Brooksby, who isn’t even in the top 40, just couldn’t find a way past Medvedev’s depth and clever shot-making on these quick Dubai courts. He barely had any chances to break back.
Now Medvedev gets ready for the semi-finals, where he’ll take on either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Jiri Lehecka. He’s looking to keep up his run and go for the title.
After the match, Medvedev said he was happy with how he played and is looking forward to the next round.
“I’m really happy with my level. I think I’m playing better and better with every match,” he said. “A lot of my shots were landing in, and I think maybe he had a shoulder issue, but he’s a tough competitor, so I knew it wouldn’t be easy.
“I put in the work during the off-season and came into this year feeling good. I think you can see that paying off now.”
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