A tough week that came at the end of a long year for the 28-year-old who failed to win an ATP title in 2024.

Medvedev did reach the final of the Australian Open earlier in the year, however, as he continued to show promise at times.

Perhaps a reason for his struggles was revealed in Turin, as Medvedev complained about how tennis balls have changed on the ATP Tour in the last few years.

Medvedev was frustrated about how Taylor Fritz was returning the ball against him but said he wasn’t surprised as he thinks the balls have changed the way tennis is played.

“No, not at all,” he said.

“The balls make that everyone can do it now, so not at all surprised.

“Every match is a struggle, I was holding for long time.

“Now I feel zero pleasure of being on the court.”

Medvedev might be glad to know that one of his fiercest rivals, has apparently thought of a solution to the problem.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has an ‘easy solution’ to ATP controversy after Daniil Medvedev’s complaints

Speaking on an exclusive Q&A with his fans on Instagram, Stefanos Tsitsipas gave his thoughts on the ongoing ATP tennis ball controversy.

“I have felt certain balls be worse than others when their fluff goes off very quickly, it can be very annoying,” he said.

“Daniil Medvedev, I’ve seen him plenty of times on TV complaining about it to umpires, I haven’t been that type of person where I put a lot of emphasis on balls.”

He did, however, agree with Medvedev that something needs to be done.

“One thing that I will tell you though is that I do believe that the tour needs to establish a certain ball played on all surfaces as much as possible,” said Tsitsipas.

“Having to switch from one tournament to the other, to different ball brands and different types of balls, this has definitely been an issue on the tour lately, and there needs to be a solution to resolve all this.”

The Greek number one thinks that he has the perfect solution to the problem.

“I’ve suggested that all the factories, the manufacturers of balls come together, and they make a very small section of their factory entirely for pro tennis,” he said.

“All they do is apply their sticker on the ball, so there is a standard, a ball standard that is applied for the entire tour.

“The ball does not change, it’s getting manufactured the same way, and that way, any ball sponsor that wants to be visible at a particular tournament gets to put their logo on the ball.

“Easy solution, doesn’t sound too complicated to me.

“I’ve been suggesting that for years now, it’s just who is going to help make that transition, and who is going to help apply it to the tour so that it becomes a default for all of us.”

What have other ATP players had to say about the tennis balls?

Medvedev and Tsitsipas have now both spoken out about the problems with the tennis balls on the ATP Tour, but has anyone else made their feelings heard?

The answer is yes, as world number four Taylor Fritz gave his thoughts on the tennis ball saga at the ATP Finals earlier this year.

“I feel like they can be completely different balls from different weeks, from when we play Toronto, Cincinnati, Montreal,” he said.

“Last year when we played Montreal to Cincinnati you cannot tell me those were the same balls we were playing with both weeks.

“There’s no chance.”

The American may have his own problems with the tennis balls on tour but he didn’t let that bother him in 2024, as Fritz reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open.

Fritz, Medvedev, and Tsitsipas will all now be beginning their preparations for the 2025 season, and the Australian Open which begins on January 12.

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