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Mouratoglou points to balls and surfaces as injury debate grows on ATP Tour
Mouratoglou says surfaces and balls, not just schedule, may explain tennis’s injury surge in 2026.
Tennis’s injury discussion has sharpened in 2026, with the ATP Tour losing several leading names and major events feeling the effect. Carlos Alcaraz’s five-month absence has already underscored the strain on the sport, and now Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal from the US Open because of a knee injury has added another major setback.
Holger Rune, Arthur Fils and Jack Draper have also dealt with significant injuries over the past year, reinforcing the sense that the problem has spread through the tour. While the packed calendar is often cited as the main culprit, Patrick Mouratoglou says the issue runs deeper than scheduling alone.
Speaking on Instagram, the former coach of Serena Williams said: “You know the reason, the calendar? I don’t think so. I have a completely different explanation. Since the early 2000s, the governing bodies have decided to slow down the surfaces and homogenise them.
“Some surfaces that used to be very fast are not fast anymore. “Now, most of the players play fully from the baseline, hitting the ball extremely hard with a very high intensity. Look at the injuries that are listed. It’s only upper body injuries.
“We’re not talking about the movement. One of the explanations is the fact that, you know, all the players have to hit the ball way harder than before. The second explanation is the balls. First, from one tournament to the other, it’s a different ball.
“Some are lighter. Some are heavier. It’s constant adaptation for your upper body, and constant different stress on the joints of the upper body. A lot of players have complained that the balls are reacting differently. They get old extremely fast.
“So I think that it’s important that the governing bodies at this point, knowing now that there is a huge increase in injuries from the upper body, work to find the explanation of this phenomenon and then find solutions so we go back to a percentage of injury that is acceptable.”
Mouratoglou is not alone in raising the issue. Earlier this year, Emma Raducanu said: “I do think the balls are a big challenge for all of us. The way that they deteriorate is really challenging.
“I think it gets very fluffy. You see a lot of wrist, elbow, shoulder injuries happening now. And it is hard because the dynamic of the points can be different from when they’re new to when they’re old.”
Daniil Medvedev has also been a persistent critic. “I’m crying because it disadvantages me,” he said earlier this year at the Rotterdam Open. “But if you take six balls out of the new balls out of the can, if you look closely and you bounce them, there are going to be six different balls. I don’t think that’s how it’s supposed to be.”
With top players repeatedly voicing concern, pressure is building for tennis to address one of the sport’s most persistent complaints.
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Rafael Jodar earns growing approval as ATP stars predict a major US Open breakthrough
ATP stars are backing Rafael Jodar as men’s tennis’ top young talent entering the US Open.
A strong group of ATP players has reached the same conclusion: Rafael Jodar is the leading young name in men’s tennis right now.
The Spaniard started the 2025 season at No. 895 while still at the University of Virginia. By the close of the year, the 19-year-old had climbed to No. 168, decided to turn professional, and set off on an even steeper rise in 2026.
That progress has been extraordinary. Earlier this month, Jodar moved to a career-high of No. 11, and he remains in position to challenge Boris Becker’s record for the fastest climb from the top 100 into the top 10.
His form has also placed him ninth in the ATP Tour Race, with a place at the ATP Finals in Turin later this year looking increasingly plausible. Among players 21 and under, only Learner Tien, Jakub Mensik, and Joao Fonseca are anywhere near him in the NextGen conversation.
With the US Open approaching, Jodar is aiming for another deep run after reaching the French Open quarter-finals earlier this year. Several established players have already pointed to him as the breakout candidate for Flushing Meadows.
Matteo Berrettini told ATP Tour, “I feel like there are so many young guys that are so good already; they are stars already.
“The first name that comes to mind is Jodar. He’s top 20 in the world. So he’s not really a rising star; he is a star already.”
Alex De Minaur also selected Jodar, while Casper Ruud named the Spaniard or Tien. Karen Khachanov added, “Jodar. I think everybody’s now speaking about him. Really fast development and progress over the last four, five months.”
The praise has not stopped there. Toni said, “I am liking Rafael Jodar a lot because of what I have seen. It seems to me that it is the best of the new generation,” and later added that he does not see him in the same class as Carlos Alcaraz, but believes he can trouble the best players in the world.
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Alcaraz and Djokovic land in a demanding US Open draw
Alcaraz and Djokovic face stern tests as the 2026 US Open draw sets up a difficult path.
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have been placed on the same side of the 2026 US Open draw, and both begin with testing opening rounds in New York.
Alcaraz returns to competitive singles for the first time since sustaining a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open in mid-April, with the Spaniard back at Flushing Meadows as the defending champion. His opening opponent is Roman Safiullin, a player who holds a 1-1 head-to-head record with the 23-year-old.
With world No 1 Jannik Sinner absent because of a knee injury, French Open Alexander Zverev is the top seed. Alcaraz, the second seed, sits in the opposite half, while Felix Auger-Aliassime is seeded third in Zverev’s section. Djokovic, meanwhile, could again meet Alcaraz in the semi-finals, just as he did last year.
The top names also face difficult early tests. Zverev opens against Lorenzo Sonego, Auger-Aliassime starts against Rinky Hijikata, and Djokovic meets Mariano Navone, who is ranked 49th at the time of writing after being listed as the former world No 29.
There are several other notable first-round matches. Stan Wawrinka, who is soon to retire, faces Matteo Berrettini, and the winner could run into Djokovic in round two. Marin Cilic begins against 23rd seed Andrey Rublev, Arthur Fils meets Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Rafael Jodar opens against Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The projected paths also underline how open the draw may be. Djokovic’s possible route includes Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Brandon Nakashima and Daniil Medvedev before a semi-final with Alcaraz and a final against Zverev. Alcaraz’s projected path features Jenson Brooksby, Matteo Arnaldi, Alexander Bublik and Arthur Fils before that potential meeting with Djokovic.
Zverev’s and Auger-Aliassime’s possible routes also point toward difficult finishes, with Alex De Minaur appearing in both halves of their projected paths.
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Ruud injury concern grows after practice footage ahead of US Open
Ruud’s US Open hopes face fresh doubt after practice footage raised new injury concerns.
Concern is rising over Casper Ruud’s US Open prospects after video surfaced of the Norwegian looking uncomfortable during a practice hit.
The 27-year-old’s build-up to the final major of the year has already been interrupted. He suffered an early defeat in Canada and later withdrew from Cincinnati because of injury. In his opening match at that final Masters 1000 event before Flushing Meadows, Ruud lost the first set to Christopher O’Connell, then took a medical timeout. The back problem affecting him did not ease, and the former US Open finalist retired while 2-1 ahead in the second set.
There had been some signs that the issue might have settled after he teamed up with Diana Shnaider in the mixed-doubles event earlier this week. The pair reached the quarter-finals before losing to Mirra Andreeva and Andrey Rublev.
Ruud’s own social media post on Wednesday also suggested he was ready to turn his focus to singles. He thanked the Russian for a “fun event”, while looking ahead to the main draw.
Later that day, though, footage emerged of him appearing to struggle while hitting with Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry. On social media, prominent tennis presence, @AnnaK-4ever, said Ruud ended the session more than an hour early, that he “couldn’t serve” and that even the groundstrokes caused him “considerable pain”.
This has been a difficult season by his standards. Ruud is 25-16 in 2026 and has slipped to No 20 in the rankings. His best campaign came in 2022, when he won 51 matches, lost 22 times and finished third in the world. He ended 2023 at No 11, moved up to No 6 in 2024, and was No 12 at the close of 2025 with a 71% win rate. In 2026, that figure has fallen to 61%.
With 20 players already withdrawing from the US Open due to injury, Ruud’s latest setback has only added to the uncertainty. If he does not pull out, he may still be limited in New York.
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