Carlos Alcaraz rips constant ball changes on Tour after opening loss at ATP Finals

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Carlos Alcaraz called out the constant ball changes on the ATP Tour following his ATP Finals loss to Alexander Zverev. On Monday, world No 2 Alcaraz made his ATP Finals debut in Turin by playing against Zverev. Alcaraz, 20, made a positive start to his ATP Finals debut but then Zverev came back from a set down to beat the Spaniard 6-7 (3) 6-3 6-4.

After the match, Alcaraz complained about the frequent ball changes in tournaments. This is nothing new as ATP and WTA players have complained a lot since the Asian swing about the constant ball changes. "They should do something, because it is incredible that in three or four tournaments in a row, each one has a different ball.

I think each tour should have the same ball. In Australia, the same ball. In South America, the same ball. Don’t change it every tournament. I think if I'm not mistaken we have played with 20 or 21 different balls throughout the year.

It is crazy. There are many players injured by this. If ATP wants to have the best in every tournament, they should change this or they will all be injured," Alcaraz said after his opening loss in Turin, via the The Tennis Letter.

Carlos Alcaraz says all the best players will be injured if ATP doesn’t stop changing balls so frequently

“What do you think of playing with different balls in each tournament?”

Carlos: They should do something, because it is incredible that in three or four tournaments in a… pic.twitter.com/i1OdFaAkkt — The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 13, 2023

Alcaraz made a positive start but then lost to Zverev

In the first set, Alcaraz recovered from an early break down but also missed out on three set points on Zverev's serve in the 12th game.

However, not realizing any of his three break points in the 12th game didn't impact Alcaraz, who converted his fourth set point in the first-set tie-break to still win the opener. Zverev bounced back extremely well after losing the first set as the German opened an early 3-0 lead before serving out for the second set in the ninth game.

After winning the second set, Zverev also broke Alcaraz in the fifth game of the third set and then held on to his service for the remainder of the match to complete a comeback win.