Daniil Medvedev failed to navigate past his ‘unresolved issues’ with the tennis balls used on the tour, and, the timing couldn’t have been worse. The Russian crashed in the round-robin opener of the ATP Finals against the US Open finalist Taylor Fritz. 6-4 6-3. After he couldn’t adapt, Medvedev’s frustration boiled during the three-set thriller.

Meddy shocked fans with a series of meltdowns and smashed his racquet after committing three consecutive double faults. While the Turin crowd booed him, the 28-year-old was awarded a penalty as well. He then went on to add more to his criticism of the tennis balls used on the tour-level events.

The former World No. 1 has been quite vocal about this issue. He put forth bold claims in Shanghai saying it favors “people who can benefit power from dead balls,” probably illustrating top two ATP players Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz, as the beneficiaries. Subsequently, after losing the contest against Fritz, a disappointed Medvedev unpacked at his post-match presser in Turin to highlight his concerns and, a bit more.

Seeing him constantly struggle with the apparent dead balls, reporters asked the Russian player if Fritz’s dominant long-rally game stunned him. “Not at all. The balls make (sure) that everyone can do it now. So not at all surprised,” Medvedev said. Later, after lamenting “every practice is a struggle, every match is a struggle,” he made an alarming remark. Medvedev talked about feeling “zero pleasure of being on the court.” It’s definitely not a pretty’ kick-off to the year-end championship for the Russian.

However, those concerns haven’t cornered him enough that he gives up. The Russian player has thought of a strategical way out of this issue and amazingly, let fans a peek into what’s cooking in his head.

Daniil Medvedev aims for heavy pre-season practice for improved results

“100%. That’s the goal,” Daniil Medvedev is looking to improve his game and, with it, avoiding another disappointing episode on the tour. The former World No. 1 covered how he plans to overcome his ‘issues’ with the tennis balls with an optimistic response. It’ll be a treat for Meddy fans if it works in his favor.

Maintaining an optimistic approach, Medvedev told the media that his team will make some changes in 2025 to better perform on hard courts using the tennis balls that he finds problematic. “We will try something. We’re not sure it’s going to work. We will have a good pre-season, try to see what I can do better from my side. I feel like I’m in a big disadvantage, but I need to do something with it. I can find the way through some matches like Shanghai, Beijing, and US Open. I can fight my way. I can try to find solutions in the match.”

With no way to remove the ‘troublesome’ tennis balls in question, Meddy will have to tread strategically. The 28-year-old will next take to court on Tuesday, November 12 as he squares off against Alex de Minaur.