‘Ash Won’t Win US Open’: Coach Reveals Ashleigh Barty’s Biggest Hindrance at the American Slam

Ashleigh Barty won her 3rd Grand Slam at this year’s Australian Open. The Aussie produced an absolutely dominant performance and won the Slam without dropping a single set. Barty has now won 3 of the 4 Grand Slams, with only the US Open missing from her trophy cabinet. 

The Australian is determined to win at the Flushing Meadows. However, her coach, Craig Tyzzer, talked about why Barty hasn’t enjoyed the kind of success in New York that she does everywhere else. 

On the sidelines of the Australian Open, Tyzzer opened up about Ashleigh’s performance at last year’s US Open. 

Ashleigh Barty won’t win till the US Open changes balls 

While addressing the media after Barty’s Australian Open win, coach Craig Tyzzer blamed US Open for using different balls for men and women.

He said, “The US Open really needs to change the ball for the girls. The fact they still use a different ball for guys and girls, it’s a terrible ball for someone like Ash. And I don’t know the reason why. It’s the only tournament that has a separate ball for the guys and girls. So if they don’t change the balls, she won’t win the US Open.”

Taylor suggested that Ashleigh’s game relied on the ball’s spin rate. However, in the US Open, the balls are very light, and it becomes difficult for the players to shape through the air with different spins.

US Open is the only major to use different balls for men and women – the men use extra duty Wilson balls, while the women play with regular duty balls. Having an aggressive game, Barty found the light ball hard to control, and thus, had to use a different racquet.

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“It was the only tournament last year, and really for two years, where she uses a gut racket but I had to change her to a poly just to get any sort of control of the ball,” said Tyzzer. 

Commenting on British qualifier Emma Raducanu winning the US Open and teenager Leylah Fernandez reaching the final, Craig claimed that two unexpected players getting so far was also partly down to the balls being used. 

Different types of balls used in tennis

There are a total of 8 different types of balls in tennis. However, only 2 of them are used in the professional circuit. Namely, Extra Duty Balls and Regular Duty Balls. 

Extra Duty Balls are mostly made of natural wool and felt. These balls are mainly designed for hard courts. These balls lack pace as compared to Regular Duty balls. However, due to the thick felt, these balls are more durable and consistent.

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Regular Duty Balls are also made of natural wool. However, they have less felt. These balls are designed for slower surfaces as less felt makes the ball speed faster. These balls are less durable as compared to Extra Duty Balls.