MATCH POINT: As world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka complains about hastily laid, uneven court surfaces at the Mexican Open – players deserve better at tour finals… it has been a balls-up!

• Mail Sport’s Mike Dickson has taken a look at what players are frustrated with 
• World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka has voiced her concern over the Mexico Open court
• The men say they are getting more injuries at a time when they are vulnerable

October is the month when tennis players usually complain about the length of the season, a time of weary minds and aching bodies which lack the focus of November’s year-end events.

These moans can be undermined when some of the same players start turning up playing lucrative exhibition events in far-flung places during the precious few weeks when they are supposed to be off.

This year has been markedly different in that the players’ gripes have been centred on matters regarding playing conditions — and these should elicit more sympathy.

The men, in particular, have been irked about the fact they are constantly being asked to play with different types of balls week to week, leading to injuries at a time of year when they are probably more vulnerable.

Meanwhile, the elite eight women at the WTA Finals in Cancun are unhappy with the court surface there. World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka has led the chorus of disapproval, accusing the WTA Tour of disrespecting her and others due to the state of the hastily laid court after the late decision to hold it in Mexico. She pointed out its inconsistent bounce and declared she felt ‘unsafe’ moving on it.

World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka has complained about the hastily laid court surfaces in Mexico

Sabalenka pointed out that the courts have an inconsistent bounce and she felt ‘unsafe’ on it

Let us leave aside that Sabalenka, of Belarus, has much to be grateful for this season. While other sports took a much tougher line on athletes from her country because of its role in pulverising Ukraine, the WTA Tour have bent over backwards to allow her and Russian peers to carry on as normal.

Irrespective of that, it is unacceptable that the tour finals are not played in conditions that meet the highest standards.

When it comes to the balls, this has been an issue for years. In a situation emblematic of the lack of joined-up thinking in the sport, individual tournaments currently do their own deal with a ball manufacturer and so players find themselves contending with something different all the time, adding to the stress on their bodies. In the women’s case, I understand that the US Open is already set to reverse this year’s decision to use the same heavier duty balls as the men, after a slew of complaints.

ATP Tour members have been vociferous on the matter of late, with physios reporting an uptick in wrist and elbow problems and three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka among those expressing their exasperation.

‘Can’t believe in 2023 it is still happening!’ he tweeted last week, illustrating his point with pictures of the different tubes of balls he has been using in four consecutive weeks.

The men in particular are claiming they are getting injuries at a time when they’re vulnerable

The tour, however, point out that there are multiple dilemmas they are dealing with if they tried to impose a more universal ball on tournaments.

One is that they would lose money from the deals, and another is that favouring certain manufacturers would seriously damage the business of others, with the subsequent threat of legal action. Yet improvements could be made. For a start, the balls have broadly become too slow and fluffy, contributing to the strain of ever longer matches.

And surely more co-ordination could be enforced on events in a particular swing of the circuit, so the changes could be lessened.

As for the surface issues in Mexico, it would help if the hapless WTA could sort out their calendar so that the finals venue is not announced just 52 days before it is due to start, as was the case this year.

There are some wonderful lesser or outside courts at Masters events — Pietrangeli at the Italian Open is perhaps the most famous, and Court 3 at Madrid is a personal favourite. 

There are a few shockers as well, and two of them can be found at Bercy this week, beyond the main arena. 

Courts one and two in this corner of Paris are small and gloomy with a low roof, and are hopeless for television. Court No 1 is used as an ice rink the rest of the year, and the other has the feeling of a village hall.

Danny proved a bright spark 

Danny Sapsford, right, shakes hands with Pete Sampras at the 1999 Wimbledon Championship

When Danny Sapsford bowed out of tennis at Wimbledon 1999 — he made the third round before losing to Pete Sampras (left) — the Briton joked that he would now be spending more time doing his garden. 

An enterprising journalist presented him with a pitchfork the day before his encounter with the champion.

Except Danny has done a lot more than tend to his roses. Next month the charity he founded, Bright Ideas for Tennis, celebrates its 10th birthday. 

The organisation currently uses 80 venues in the UK providing free tennis for more than 1,000 people per week, focusing largely on those with learning, sensory and physical disabilities. 

If you would like to find out more visit www.brightideasfortennis.org

The pre-tournament picture of the eight players at the WTA Finals had an unusual look with Iga Swiatek wearing a red dress, and her rivals all in white. 

Nobody could tell the world No 2 to change her attire to fit in and the Pole had her outfit designed several months ago. 

It will be interesting to see what the players are permitted to wear for this annual photo of them all looking glamorous if, as has been suggested, this event ends up in Saudi Arabia next year.

The pre-tournament picture taken before the WTA Finals as Iga Swiatek was dressed in red

Postcard from a life on tour 

Bercy has a very different vibe from Roland Garros, and not just because one comes in late autumn and one in the late spring. 

The Paris Masters is on the eastern side of the capital in a less chichi area, but an upside is its relative proximity to the Marais, one of the city’s most magical neighbourhoods. 

Once known as the Jewish quarter, it is now more identified with its museums, shops and restaurants. 

No visit is complete without having a tipple at achingly hip corner bar La Perle, which also remains a place where you can drink a coffee for just one euro — provided you stand at its old-style zinc bar.

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