US open contender Taylor Fritz has launched a strong complaint about the Wilson US Open tennis balls he has been using for practice after returning home from the tournament. The American, who was knocked out in the third round by Francisco Cerundolo, said the balls available to him now feel completely different from those used during the US Open. He believes the difference is affecting his practice and says he has tested balls from several cases to make sure it was not simply a bad batch. His comments have raised questions about the consistency between tournament and retail balls.
Writing on X, the 28-year-old said, “Massive tennis ball rant incoming. After playing Washington, Cincinnati, and the US Open, plus a full week of training in New York beforehand, I got a VERY good feel for the Wilson US Open balls we were using and know EXACTLY what they should feel like off my racket.” He added, “But since coming home, my last two days of practice with Wilson US Open balls have been miserable. They are sold, marketed, and labeled as the same balls, but the way they come off my racket and feel couldn’t be more different.” He further described the practice balls as incredibly soft, dead, and going nowhere.
Ninth seeded Taylor Fritz Slumps to Francisco Cerundolo in US Open 2026
American player Taylor Fritz lost his match to Francisco Cerundolo in the third round at the US Open that was held at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The ninth-seeded American player played well at the start of the match, by winning the first two sets with scores of 6-3 and 6-4. Also Fritz broke Cerundolo’s serve when the match reached the third set, leading the match. At that moment, it looked like the victory was in the American player’s hands. However, the Argentine player didn’t give up and was able to change the situation in the match.
As Fritz started making mistakes during the match, Cerundolo improved his game significantly. The Argentine won the next two sets with the score of 6-3 and 6-4. This made Fritz nervous and he had the opportunity to win the match in the deciding set when he had three break points at the score of 4-3. However, Cerundolo pressed on and took the advantage in that game. Fritz had to deal with the problem with one of his shoelaces that made him lose his serve at the score of 5-4. In the end, Cerundolo won the match in four hours with the scores of 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
