Matteo Berrettini has been criticized (and made fun of) for his small calves. The internet often speculates that Berrettini “routinely” skips leg days in the gym.

In a NYT article, Berrettini blames genes for his small calf muscles.

That’s why I play with ankle braces because my ankles and calves are very thin and fragile. My family is like that: It’s genetics. There’s nothing I can do about it. I work on my calves, I swear, but it looks like I don’t do it. I do it, and nothing.

-Matteo Berrettini

Small calves did not stop Berretini from reaching his maiden grand slam final at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. Though he lost the competitive final to Novak Djokovic, the future looks bright for the Italian.

According to International Tennis Federation (ITF) rules, tennis balls can be white or yellow. Yellow balls are easier to see on color TV. The official color of fluorescent yellow balls is “optic yellow”.

Older tennis fans will remember that white balls were used at most tournaments several years ago. In fact, Wimbledon started using yellow balls only in 1986.

There has been some debate on the “optic yellow” color of the tennis ball. Some have felt that tennis balls are green, and not yellow. But for the most part, tennis players and fans agree that the ball is yellow.

ITF allows the use of slower balls to increase participation in tennis. The slowest balls are red, followed by orange and green. These balls are not used in professional matches.