What Tennis Balls Do Grand Slam Tournaments Use?

Every Grand Slam has its “official ball partner”. Wilson balls are used at the French Open and US Open, Dunlop balls are used at the Australian Open and Slazenger balls are used at Wimbledon.

Balls Used At Grand Slam Tournaments

Australian Open – Dunlop

Australian Open currently uses Dunlop balls. Australian Open signed a 5-year deal with Dunlop in 2018 and started using Dunlop balls at the Australian Open in January 2019.

French Open – Wilson

French Open currently uses Wilson balls. In November 2019, French Open signed a 5-year partnership to use Wilson balls. Wilson balls were first used at the 2020 French Open. French Open was previously using Babolat balls.

Wimbledon – Slazenger

Wimbledon currently uses Slazenger balls. The partnership between Slazenger and Wimbledon goes back to 1902, making it one of the longest partnerships in sports.

US Open – Wilson

US Open currently uses Wilson balls. US Open has been using Wilson balls since 1978.

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Novak Djokovic And Vasek Pospisil Looking To Rejoin ATP Player Council After Breakaway Group PTPA Falters

Novak Djokovic and Vasek Pospisil are looking to rejoin the ATP Player Council after their newly-formed breakaway group Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) failed to get momentum.

That’s a bizarre twist in the 2020 tennis season which saw the number of tournaments played reduced and player prize money slashed across the board. With fans not allowed at the stadiums in most countries, tournaments have been struggling financially.

Djokovic and Pospisil left the ATP Player Council to start PTPA. Though the PTPA sounded like a great idea when it was announced and had good support from players, it wasn’t clear how the new group would achieve its objectives. Djokovic and Pospisil never laid out their plans. They just said the new group will work to represent players’ interests better.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray opposed the new group. They felt that having another player association will be distracting at a time when players need to be united to fight for their interests.

ATP Player Council has 12 members. Members include four members from within the top 50 singles rankings, two players ranked between 51 and 100 in singles, two top 100 doubles players, two at-large members, one alumni member, and one coach.

Kevin Anderson currently serves as President of the Council.  Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray,  Felix Auger-Aliassime, and John Millman also serve as members.

The new player council starts on January 1, 2021, and votes must be cast by end of December.

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